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VOL. XIV.

ORNITHOLOGY.
GALLINACEOUS BIRDS.

BY THE EDITOR.

EDINBUKGH:

W. H. LIZARS, 3, ST. JAMES' SQUARE.

LONDON : S. HIGHLEY, FLEET STREET ;

T. NELSON, PATERNOSTER ROW. DUBLIN : W. CURRY, JUN. & CO.

MANCHESTER: J. AINSWORTH, 93, PICCADILLY;

AND ALL BOOKSELLERS.

BIOLOGY

LIBRARY

G

PRINTED BY W. H. LIZARS, EDINBURGH.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE . . . . . 17

Natural History of Gallinaceous Birds . . . 113

The Turkey.

Meleagris gallopavo. Plate I. Male. — Plate II.

Female and Young 117

The Ocellated Turkey.

Meleagris ocellata. Plate 111 143

Genus PAVO 147

The Javanese Peacock.

Pavomuticus. Plate IV 152

Genus POLYPLECTRON 155

Argus Polyplectron.

Polyplectron bicalcaratum . . . . 156
The Crested Polyplectron.

Polyplectron emphanum. Plate V. . . 159

The Thibetian Polyplectron.

Polyplectron Tibetanus. Plate VI. . . 161

Long-tailed Polyplectron.

Polyplectron chalcurum. Plate VII. . . 163
The Argus Pheasant, or Gigantic Argus.

Argus giganteus. Plate VIII. . . . 165

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Genus GALLUS 170

Gigantic Cock.

Gallus giganteus 171

Bankiva Cock.

Gallus bankiva. Vignette Title . . . 175
The Bronzed Cock.

Gallus aneus. Plate IX 183

The Fork-Tailed Cock.

Gallus furcatus. Plate X 184

Sonnerat's Wild Cock.

Gallus Sonneratii. Plate XI. Male. —

XII. Female 186

Genus PHASIANUS 189

The Ring-Necked Pheasant.

Phasianus torquatus. Plate XIII. . . 189

Diard's Pheasant.

Phasianus versicolor. Plate XIV. Male. —

XV. Female 200

The Barred-Tailed Pheasant.

Pliasianus superbus. Plate XVI. . . . 202
Soammering's Pheasant.

Phasianus Scemmeringn. Plate XVII. . . 205

Phasianus Staceii 206

The Silver Pheasant.

Phasianus nycthemerus. Plate XVIII. . . 207
The Golden Pheasant.

Phasianus pictus. Plate XVIII.* ... 209
Lady Amherst's Pheasant.

Phasianus Amherstia 210

Genus EUPLOCOMUS 213

The Macartney Cock.

Euplocomus ignitus. Plate XIX. Male. —

XX. Female 214

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Pucras Pheasant.

Euplocomus pucrasia. Plate XXI. . . 216

Genus LOPHOPHORUS ...... 218

Impeyan Lophophorus.

LophopJiorus Impeyanus. Plate XXII. Male.

—XXIII. Female .... 219

Genus TRAGOPAN 221

The Nepaul or Horned Tragopan.

Tragopan satyrus. Plate XXIV. . . 222

The Golden-Breasted Tragopan.

Tragopan Hastingii. Plate XXV. Male

XXVI. Female 224

Black-Headed Tragopan.

Tragopan melanocephalus. Plate XXVII. . 226

Genus NUMIDA 227

The Crested Guinea Fowl.

Numida cristata. Plate XXVIII. . . 228

The Common Guinea Fowl.

Numida meleagris. Plate XXIX. . . 229

POULTRY AND THE POULTRY YARD.

Common or Barn-Door Fowl and Turkey . 233

Pea Fowl 246

Guinea Fowl 248

Domestic Water Fowl.

Ducks 249

Geese 251

MEMOIR

ARISTOTLE.

MEMOIR

AKISTOTLE

MEMOIR.-GF-ARJSTOTLE.

THERE are few names in the annals of antiquity,
or in the wide circle of classic literature, more cele-
brated than that of Aristotle. In an age which
could boast of Demosthenes, Socrates, and Plato,
and in a country distinguished beyond all others for
the cultivation of knowledge, he bore away the palm
of genius from every competitor ; and although there
are many departments of science wherein his labours
have been surpassed by those of modern philoso-
phers, there are others in which his profound eru;
dition, and his amazing intellectual exertions, remain
hitherto unrivalled. His comprehensive mind em-
braced every subject which then formed a part of
scholastic study, or fell within the range of human
contemplation. Accordingly, of all the ancient
Greek writers, he is at once the most voluminous,
diversified, and obscure. His works, like those of
many other classic authors, have descended to us in
a corrupted and mutilated shape ; and though now
rather admired than read or understood, they still
maintain the reputation of being an encyclopaedia of

F MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

all that is curious or valuable in science and philo-
sophy as they existed in Greece, when Greece, for
learning and arts, was the most illustrious country
in the world. At an early period of its history, the
xvisdom of the East, including the dark traditions of
Egypt and India, with their mythology, geometry,
and astronomy, were imported by native travellers,
whom the gratitude of their fellow-citizens dignified
with the title of Sophi, or wise men, on account of
their extraordinary pre-eminence in natural and mo-
ral knowledge. For many centuries the vestal fires
of this adopted literature continued to burn with in-
creasing splendour in the schools of Athens, Corinth,
and Megara, under a succession of able masters,
most of whom were the founders of distinct sects,
who adopted their name and opinions. At the time
when Aristotle appeared, the prevailing sects were
the Ionic, the Socratic, the Cyrenaic, the Megaric,
the Academic, and the Peripatetic ; each of which
had its partisans, and generally flourished or declin^
ed according to the celebrity of its teachers.

About a century before the reign of Alexander,
speculative philosophy had assumed a new and more
systematic form ; many of its fanciful theories had
been exploded ; a more rational method of instruc-
tion was introduced, by treating the different sub»
jects, whether in ethics, physics, or politics, under
their proper subdivisions ; all of which were studied
in the Grecian academies with a rivalry and enthu-
siasm unparalleled perhaps in the history of civilized

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 19

nations. This improved philosophy was carried to
its highest perfection hy Aristotle, in whose writings
the doctrines of his predecessors and the learning of
his age, were summed up and embodied as it were in-
to one entire library. Of his indefatigable industry
and extensive information, his copious remains, even
in their abridged state, afford ample and honourable
testimony ; and as for his talents, it would be disre-
spectful to mankind, as Dr Reid well remarks, not
to allow an uncommon share to a man who govern-
ed the opinions of the most enlightened part of the
species, for nearly two thousand years. Among his
contemporaries he was regarded as " Nature's Se-
cretary," the high priest of science, and the prince
of philosophers. During the darker ages, his dogmas
reigned in the universities of Christendom with un-
disputed sway. His memory was worshipped with
a veneration almost divine, insomuch that he has
sometimes been placed by the side of the Apostle of
Tarsus ; for our countryman Roger Bacon, in his
Opus Majus, has said, that " he hath the same au-
thority in philosophy, that St Paul hath in divinity."
The age of superstitious reverence for categories
and syllogisms has long passed away ; and the re-
nowned Stagirite, like other writers, must be weigh-
ed in the balance of his own merits, instead of be-
ing measured by the standard of ignorant admiration.
A line of demarcation can now easily and safely be
«lrawn between those portions of his works that are
still deserving of attention, and those which have

20 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

been superseded by the gradual advancement of the
human mind in intellectual and physical knowledge.
Before proceeding, however, to give an analysis of
his writings, it will be proper to relate what has
been recorded of his life and character. Several of
his own countrymen discharged the friendly task due
to his genius, by becoming his biographers ; but
their memoirs, except a few fragments, have perish-
ed in the general wreck of antiquity. Whatever is
now known concerning this remarkable man, must
be gleaned from the meagre and often contradictory
notices to be found in the pages of Diogenes Laer-
tius, Dionysius Halicarnassus, Hesychius the Mi-
Jesian, Suidas, Ammonius, and a few others of more
doubtful authenticity. Modern writers have not
thrown much additional light on the subject, and
their efforts have accomplished little more than at-
tempting to reconcile what is discordant, or rejecting
what is improbable, in the statements of the ancients.
Aristotle was born at Stagira, a city and sea-port
of Macedonia, about the beginning of the 99th Olym-
piad, and 384 years before the Christian era. The
place of his birth, which derives its chief celebrity
from being associated with his name, and which,
but for this fortunate accident, might have been
blotted from the geography of Europe, was situated
on the Strymonic Gulf, and long numbered among
the Greek cities of Thrace ; but in the reign of Phi-
lip it belonged to Macedon, as the conquests of that
monarch had extended the name of his country far

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 21

beyond the river Strymon to the confines of Mount
Rhodope. The town possessed a harbour with a
small island, named Kapros ; and, like some of the
neighbouring cities, enjoyed the precarious dignity
of an independent government. In the Peloponne-
sian war, it was the ally of Athens, and afterwards
became subject to the commonwealth of Olynthus,
which, in its turn, was attacked by Philip ; and, with
all its dependencies, reduced by the arms or arts of
that ambitious prince, in the first year of the 108th
Olympiad. That the resistance of Stagira was obsti-
nate, may be inferred from the severity of its pu-
nishment, for the conqueror, as we learn from Plu-
tarch, ordered it to be razed to the ground.

The parentage of Aristotle was highly respectable.
His father Nicomachus was descended in direct line
from Machaon, whose skill in physic is celebrated
by Homer, and who was son to JEsculapius, the
companion of the Argonauts, exalted after his death
to a place among the gods as the tutelary deity of
the healing art. Nicomachus followed the profes-
sion of his father and his ancestors, and even im-
proved that branch of hereditary knowledge, by
writing six books on medicine, and one on natural
philosophy. He was the physician and friend of
Amyntas, King of Macedon, who held him in pecu-
liar esteem. The circumstance of this medical pe-
digree has led one writer, Tzetzes, to allege that Aris-
totle was called an JEsculapian figuratively, and not
by descent ; but there seems no reason to call in
question the common account of his genealogy. His

22 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

mother, whose name was Phsestis, some have traced
to the same illustrious origin as her husband ; but
whatever was her extraction, her acknowledged
country was Eubcea, or Chalcidica, her father, as
Dionysius Halicarnassus asserts, being one of the
colony which was sent from Chalcis to Stagira*
It was the misfortune of Aristotle to lose his parents
at a veiy early age, a fact that Dr Reid seems to
have overlooked when he mentions his being brought
up at the Court of Macedon, as among the " many
uncommon advantages" which he enjoyed. At what
precise period that event happened, or what pro-
gress he had then made in his education, it is now
impossible to ascertain ; but, as one of his modem
oiographers has remarked, it is an agreeable, and
not altogether an unwarranted, conjecture, that his
father had inspired him with a taste for his own pro-
fession, and especially with that ardent love for the
study of Nature, which made him long be regarded
as her best and chosen interpreter ; while from his
mother he imbibed that attic elegance and purity
which everywhere pervades his writings. His gra-
titude and affection to her he displayed, by causing
her picture to be drawn by Protogenes, an eminent
painter of that time, which Pliny reckoned as among
the choicest pieces of that master.

The early loss of his parents was supplied and
compensated by the kind attentions of Proxenus, a

* It appears from Laerthw, that Aristotle had two bro-
thers, Arimnestus and Arimnestes, and a sister called
Hero.

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 23

citizen of Atarna, in Mysia, who received the young
philosopher into his family, and skilfully directed his
education. These important services the grateful
pupil afterwards requited. Statues were erected at
his expense in honour of Proxenus and his wife;
their child Nicanor he adopted as his own son, and
by his will left him a handsome property.

On the death of his benefactor, Aristotle remov-
ed to Athens, being then in his seventeenth year.
There is some difference of opinion as to his pursuits
and mode of life at this period, and also as to the
cause of his enrolling himself a student of the Aca-
demy. Athenseus and ^Elian relate that, having
Wasted the inheritance left him by his father in pro-
digality and luxury, he adopted a military life ; that,
failing of success, he had recourse to the selling
of drugs, in which capacity, it is alleged, he visited
Athens, where he accidentally entered the school
of Plato, and being charmed with his wisdom,
determined to become a disciple of that renowned
teacher. This account, however, considering the
tender years of Aristotle, is altogether improbable ;
nor does it accord with the circumstances of his his-
tory, as narrated by authors of unimpeachable credit.
Equally erroneous is the assertion, that he was for
three years the scholar of Socrates, since the latter
died at least eight years before the Stagirite was born.
The story of his being led to study philosophy in
obedience to the advice of the Pythian oracle, must
be classed among the fictions of a credulous age*

24 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

A sufficient reason for his resorting to the Academy,
may be found in the celebrity of Plato, whose school
at that time was the most famous in the world, and
long continued to be the centre of attraction for all
the learning and genius of Greece. The master was
not slow to discover and appreciate the extraordinary
talents of his pupil. He admired his acuteness of
apprehension, and often applauded his unwearied ap-
plication to study. In compliment to his superior
abilities, he called him the " soul of his school ;" and
when he happened to be absent, he used to com-
plain that his lectures were addressed to a " deaf
audience/' His industry in perusing and copying
manuscripts, was unexampled and almost incredible.
From this circumstance he was called, by way of
eminence, the " student," and his house was styled
the " house of the great reader." As he advanced
in years, his penetration was as remarkable in.cjm-
vasaing opinions, as his diligence had been unrivalled
in collecting them. His capacious mind, we are
told, embraced the whole circle of science ; and not-
withstanding his pertinacity in rejecting every prin-
ciple or tenet which he could not on reflection ap-
prove, his singular merits failed not to secure the
love and admiration of his venerable instructor, with
whom he continued to reside for twenty years, until
their friendship was dissolved by the death of the latter.
Such was his eagerness in the acquisition of knowledge,
that he devoted to it the best part of his life, — alike
careless of the honours and emoluments of a court,

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

which the rank and connexion of his famil
have procured him in Macedon ; and indifferent To
the high distinction which his splendid abilities
might easily have attained, by establishing a sepa-
rate school, and founding a new sect in philosophy.
It has been alleged, indeed, that various circum-
stances occurred to interrupt the harmonious inti-
macy between him and his master. Some have af-
firmed that he offended the gravity of Plato by his
foppery in dress, and his excessive fondness for os-
tentatious ornament. His mantle was gaudy ; he
wore sandals of rich materials, and rings of great
value on his fingers ; his head and chin were closely
cropped, contrary to the rule or the fashion of the
Academy, which required the hair and beard of its
disciples to be worn of their natural length.

These may appear trivial causes of virtuous indig*
nation ; but when we reflect, that, in ancient times,
the shagginess of the human countenance was not
only an indispensable requisite, but the legal standard
for ascertaining the depth of wisdom and learning,
such a contempt for scholastic usages must have
subjected the offender to the reproach and resent-
ment of his contemporaries. This imputed love of
finery, however, was only assumed, perhaps, to con-
ceal the defects of his figure, as his stature was short,
and his limbs disproportionably slender. Certain it
is, that his anxiety to adorn his person abated no-
thing of his assiduity in the embellishment of his
mind. His attention to dress (probably much exag-

26 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

gerated by his enemies) was in him merely an ac-
cessory which neither altered his character, nor
weakened that ardent desire for knowledge, which,
even in the vigour of manhood, and amidst the
gaieties of Athens, continued to he the master pas-
sion of his soul. There are other reasons of discord
stated by Laertius, who says, that Plato disliked the
scornful derision of his looks, and could not endure
his impertinent contradiction of his prelections ; on
which account his friendship was withdrawn, and
transferred to more submissive pupils. The repu-
diated favourite, he adds, opened a school in the
LycaBum, in opposition to his master ; at which the
indignant sage severely remarked, that his ungrate-
ful disciple resembled " the young foals that kicked
their dams when they had sucked their fill;" and,
from this circumstance, Aristotle was usually called
the Colt. These charges, however, are generally ad-
mitted to have been malicious aspersions cast upon
his memory, and invented after his death. Their
origin is ascribed to Aristoxenus, who took this me-
thod of revenge, because Aristotle refused to make
him successor in his school, having given the pre-
ference to Theophrastus. That he contradicted
Plato, and perplexed him with ingenious sophistries,
is highly probable, considering the boldness with
which he determines questions beyond the reach of
human intellect ; but, as Ammonius observes, this is
nothing wonderful, since Plato frequently contradicts
himself. As for the assertion, that he was guilty of

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 27

ingratitude to his instructor, by commencing to teach
in opposition to him, it is altogether unfounded.
Nothing is more unlikely than that he would have
ventured on such a perilous step, at a time when the
power of Chabrias and Timotheus, Plato's kinsmen,
was almost absolute at Athens. We have the evi-
dence of his own epistle to Philip, that he was a
constant and sedulous hearer of this great philoso-
pher as long as he lived. In his writings he makes
honourable mention of him ; and, after his death, he
erected, in testimony of his unchanged affection, an
altar bearing an inscription which maybe thus trans-
lated :

44 This sacred shrine to Plato's name is rear'd,
Which grateful Aristotle long rever'd!
Far hence, ye vulgar ! nor presume to stain
With impious praise, this consecrated fane/'

Olympiodorus mentions, that he composed a whole
discourse in his commendation ; and, in his Elegies
to Eudemus, he extols him in language as affection-
ate as it is complimentary.

" And, coming to the famed Cecropian town,
In sign of friendship did an altar raise
To him whom none with lips profane dare praise ;
Who erring man to virtue did restore,
Much by his precepts, by example more.
A sage so pious, loved of gods and men,
No future age must hope to see again."

These and other affectionate tokens of regard to
the memory of his master, afford a presumption,
amounting almost to certainty, that there is no truth

28 MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE.

in the assertion that he gave offence to Plato by his
effeminate dress and impertinent loquacity, or that
he drove him from the Academy in his old age, and
took possession of his chair, until he was himself
expelled by Xenocrates.

Plato died in the first year of the 108th Olympiad,
and 338 before the Christian era, at the age of 81.
Whether the venerable philosopher cherished a reci-
procal esteem for his illustrious pupil, is doubted by
some, who have alleged that he was jealous of his
rising talents, and afraid lest his own celebrity should
be eclipsed by that of a rival. In corroboration of
this supposition, it has been observed that he no-
where mentions him in his writings; and that, at his
death, he did not appoint him his successor in the
Academy, although confessedly the most distinguish-
ed of all his scholars in learning and talents, but no-
minated Speusippus to that situation, — a man far
his inferior in abilities, temper, and moral character.
It does not appear, however, that these allegations
are better founded than the charges of his avowed
detractors, already referred to. Speusippus was
the nephew of Plato, being the son of his sister Po-
tona ; his preference to Aristotle was therefore na-
tural ; nor is there the slightest evidence that the
Stagirite took offence that, in this appointment, the
strong claim of merit should have been sacrificed to
the partial feelings of consanguinity. On the con-
trary, the altars and verses consecrated to his memory,
evince that his attachment to his teacher had suffer-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 29

ed no diminution ; and in some of his latest writings,
he speaks of him with a degree of admiration ap-
proaching to reverence.

The demise of his master gave Aristotle an op-
portunity of founding a separate school, but why he
neglected to avail himself of it, or why he chose to
abandon the scene of his studies, can only be mat-
ter of conjecture. Perhaps the connections which
he had formed with some of the most eminent, as
well as the most extraordinary, personages of his
own or any age, might have inspired him with the
design of leaving Athens, after he had lost the phi-
losopher and friend whose reputation had first drawn
him thither, and whose instructive society had so
long retained him in that celebrated capital.

Among his condisciples at the Academy, was a
eunuch named Hermias, with whom he maintained a
close and uninterrupted correspondence, and whose
history forcibly illustrates the capricious vicissitudes
of fortune. He was originally the slave of Eubulus, a '
prince and philosopher of Bithynia ; but his spirit
was unbroken by servitude, and he possessed a mind
far above the humble condition of his birth. Through
the bounty of his indulgent patron, he was enabled
early to gratify his natural taste for learning, by re-
sorting to Athens, where he formed an acquaintance
with the young Stagirite, which soon united them
in the bonds of mutual esteem, and finally settled
down into a cordial and unalterable friendship. But
the calm retreats of science were abandoned for the

80 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE*

more dangerous pursuits of ambition. His enter*
prising courage, seconded by good fortune, raised
him to the sovereignty of two Greek cities of Mysia,
Assus and Atarna, the former lying in the district of
Troas, the latter in that of ^olis; and both of them,
like most Grecian colonies on the Asiatic coast, but
loosely dependent on the Persian empire. His suc-
cessful boldness in usurping the sceptre, was only
equalled by the manly firmness with which he held
it ; and as the armies of Artaxerxes were distant, he
found little difficulty in maintaining peaceful posses-
sion of it* for a time.

It was upon the invitation of his now royal friend
and companion, that Aristotle, immediately after the
death of Plato, repaired to Atarna ; and his resolu-
tion was probably influenced by the fond desire of
revisiting the spot where he had spent the happy
years of his youth, under the kind protection of
Proxenus. In that city he found the wish of Plato
realized ; he beheld in his friend Hermias philoso-
phy seated on a throne. With him he resided near-
ly three years, receiving the warmest testimonies of
love and respect, and enjoying the inexpressible
pleasure of seeing his own enlightened political
maxims exemplified in the virtuous reign of his fel-
low-student. But the seat of the usurper is gene-
rally insecure, and so it proved with Hermias. Ar-
taxerxes having subdued the rebels in Egypt, deter-
mined to restore to his dominion the dismembered
cities of Mysia. Mentor, a General whose zeal and

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 31

valour are recorded in the Persian annals, was em-
ployed as the fittest instrument for accomplishing
the task. This apostate and unprincipled Greek was
numbered among the friends of Hermias, and con-
nected with him by the sacred ties of hospitality ;
but the breast of a renegade and traitor is alike in-
sensible to the feelings of honour and the obligations
of gratitude. His former intimacy was made the
means of facilitating the cruel stratagem. The unwary
prince was decoyed to an interview, where he was
seized by Mentor in person, and sent privately to
Upper Asia, until an order arrived from Artaxerxes
for his execution. The base artifices of the betrayer
ended not with this atrocity. Having possessed
himself of the ring which Hermias usually employed
as his signet, he sealed with it despatches to the dif-
ferent cities that acknowledged his authority ; and
by this false key their gates were opened without
suspicion to the Persian soldiers. The perfidy of
Mentor, which thus insidiously compassed the ruin
and death of his friend, Aristotle has himself branded
with deserved infamy, when, in one of his treatises,
he contrasts the dexterity of this successful knave
with the real virtue of prudence. His gratitude to
this generous benefactor he celebrated in verse, by
writing a hymn to his praise, and erecting a statue
to his memory, in the Temple at Delphi, which bore
an inscription, in allusion to the disreputable means
by which he was cut off.

82 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

This man by hands dishonourable slain,
The faithless Persian king his victim made ;
Not as the hero falls on battle plain,
But under friendship's hollow mask betrayed.

There were certain detractors who attempted to
give his virtuous friendship for Hermias the colouring
of a criminal attachment ; but their reports obtained
little credit at the time, and are now discarded as
notorious calumnies. Theocritus of Chios, a Greek
historian who wrote an account of Libya, carried
his obloquy so far, as to satirise both his moral
character, and his public testimonial to Hermias, in
a severe epigram, thus rendered :

An empty shrine to Eubulus's slave
The amorous eunuch — Aristotle gave,
Himself as empty ; who, from brute desire,
Forsook the school for pleasure's filthy mire.

These scandalous imputations were answered by
Apellicon, a philosopher of Teios, who wrote several
books on purpose, wherein he elaborately confutes
those who dared, in this manner (as he expresses it)
" to blaspheme the name of so great a man."

The moderate policy which Mentor, in his first
transactions at Atarna, found it necessary to assume,
enabled Aristotle to avoid the punishment which
naturally overtook the ambition of his friend. By a
timely flight he escaped to Mitylene, in the island of
Lesbos, in company with Pythias, the kinswoman
and adopted daughter of Hermias, whom that prince

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 33

had educated, and destined to become the heiress of
his fortunes. Her expectations were now miserably
reduced ; but this sad reverse endeared her the more
to Aristotle, who espoused his fair companion, for
whom he entertained a sincere attachment. He
was then in his thirty-seventh year, which is pre-
cisely the age recommended by himself as the fittest
on the male side for entering into wedlock. The
lady did not long survive her marriage, but she left
an iufant daughter whom the father named after a
wife tenderly beloved, and who repaid his affection
with the most tender sensibility. It is mentioned
by Diogenes Laertius, as her last request, that when
her husband should die (which might the fates Ions;
avert ! ) her own ashes were to be disinterred, and
enclosed with his in the same monument.

Aristotle passed but a short time in the Island of
Lesbos, his celebrity being now too well known to
allow him much leisure for the indulgence either of
love or melancholy. His father's name and his own
were familiar at the court of Macedon ; and, during
his residence in Athens, he had strengthened his
hereditary friendship with Philip, a prince only one
year younger than himself, who, having lived from
the age of fifteen to twenty-two in Thebes, and the
•leitrhbouring cities, had ascended the throne of hi*
ancestors in the twenty-third year of his age. This
cm urn stance of itself may account for the applica-
tion which that monarch made to Aristotle, to im
dertake the education of his son Alexander, who.

34 MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE.

even from his boyhood, had given symptoms of thosd
extraordinary talents which have made bis actions as
a conqueror so familiar to posterity. It has been al-
leged, on the authority of Laertius, that, while a stu-
dent at the Academy, he had been sent by the
Athenians on an embassy to Philip, to implore his
forbearance in behalf of the Grecian cities, which he
then threatened to subject to the yoke of his military
despotism ; and that, having succeeded in his mis-
sion, his grateful fellow- citizens decreed his statue
to be placed in the Acropolis, as a benefactor to the
Republic. It is more than probable, however, that
these statements have arisen from a slight anachronism,
and that the Athenians had used his influence with
Philip to spare their freedom, not before but after
he had become an inmate of his family. This cir-
cumstance may have occasioned the erection of a
statue to his memory, in remembrance of the services
which he then rendered the State.

It was in the fifth year of his father's reign that
Alexander was born. Several tutors or preceptors
had been employed in training his infant mind, at
the head of whom was Leonidas, a kinsman of the
queen. But Philip early perceived, that the educa-
tion of his son was a matter of too great importance
to be entrusted to ordinary masters. Music, dan-
cing, and such-like accomplishments, he found to be
unsuitable to his genius, which, as Sophocles has
said, required

a The rudder's guidance, and the curb's restraint.**

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. dD

Accordingly, he addressed himself to Aristotle, in
a, letter as flattering to his literary fame as was the
compliment paid by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Isaac
Newton. This epistle is recorded by Agellius in,
the following terms :

" PHILIP to ARISTOTLE — Health. — Know that I
have a son. I render the gods many thanks, not so
much for his birth, as that he was born at the time
when Aristotle lives ; for I am assured that, if edu-
cated and instructed by you, he will become worthy1
of us, and worthy of the kingdom which he inherits."

In compliance with this kingly request, Aristotle
set sail from Lesbos, and escaping the danger of the
Athenian fleet, then at war with Macedon, he ar-
rived at Pella, to undertake one of the few employ-
ments not unworthy of a philosopher qualified to in-
struct and benefit the latest ages of the world. In
the tuition of his illustrious pupil, he spent about
eight years, during which long period, in an office
replete with difficulty and delicacy, he had the rare
honour of giving the highest satisfaction to the royal
parents, while he excited in the breast of their son
feelings of the warmest gratitude. He was treated,
both by Philip and his proud queen Olympias, with
every mark of distinction that greatness could bestow
on acknowledged merit. He was admitted to an ex-
tensive share in the government, and allowed a voice
in the counsels of his sovereign, where his advice
was often useful, and always acceptable. On these
occasions he was not slack to exert his kind inter*

36 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

ce3sions in Behalf of his friends and countrymen
whenever his interest could be of service. The misfor-
tunes, which, in the progress of Macedonian con-
quest, had befallen his native city Stagira, gave
him an opportunity of shewing the strength of his
attachment to the place of his birth. Although he
had not resided there, and appears scarcely to have
visited it for the long period of thirty years, yet,
through his representations at the Court of Pella, the
town was entirely rebuilt, its walls and ornamental
edifices were restored, and its wandering citizens
collected and reinstated in their former possessions.
He himself supplied them with a code of wise laws
for the regulation of their government ; nor were the
inhabitants on their part ungrateful for the generosity
of their sovereign, and the patriotism of their fellow
townsman. To commemorate the event, they insti-
tuted annual festivals called Aristotelaea, and gave the
name of Stagirites to the month in which they were
celebrated. Authors have recorded other examples
of his exertions, in having, amidst the devastations of
war, extended the patronage and secured the protec-
tion of science. We learn from Plutarch, that Philip,
in testimony of the satisfactory manner in which he
fulfilled his engagements as preceptor to his son, as-
signed him a school and a study, called the Nym-
phaeum, at the neighbouring town of Mieza, where,
.ong after his death, the shady walks and stone benches
were pointed out still bearing his name. The same
biographer mentions that Alexander, in reverence for

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 37

the sentiments with which his master had inspired
him, spared the house of Pindar in the sack of
Thebes ; and that, in his expedition against the Per-
sians, the town of Eressus in Lesbos was exempted
from the fate of other conquered cities, because it
was the birth-place of Theophrastus and Phasias, two
of Aristotle's disciples.

Alexander was in his sixteenth year when he was
placed under the tuition of the Stagirite, the most in-
teresting period of life for moulding and confirming
the future character of the man. In training such a
youth, he had a rich field to cultivate, although the
precocity of his intellect had in some degree out-
stript the unripeness of his years, and thus made it
difficult for an instructor, however skilful, to alter or
eradicate impressions which had almost settled down
into fixed principles. The ambition of Alexander
had early taken root, and the peculiarities of his ge-
nius had already manifested themselves in certain
public and very important transactions at his father's
court. When his lofty notions of conquest and his
premature love of aggrandisement are taken into ac-
count, it may well be supposed that these juvenile
passions would sometimes prove too headstrong to
be governed or restrained by the voice of reason,
speaking even from the mouth of an admired philo-
sopher. Although many shared in the love and
esteem of the youthful prince, Aristotle is the only
one of his friends whose superior genius he appear*.
unceasingly to have viewed with undiminished ad-

38 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

miration, and whom he seems to have treated through
life with uniform and unchanged respect.

The branches of knowledge to which his attention
was first directed, were poetry, ethics, and politics.
Science and philosophy were not the only studies
in which Aristotle excelled ; he was addicted to the
muses, and while he favoured the world with criti-
cisms on the works of others, he was himself the au-
thor of productions that ranked him a poet of the
first eminence. Few of his verses, indeed, have
reached modern times, but the few that remain prove
him worthy of sounding the lyre of Pindar ; and it
is not the least singularity attending this extraordi-
nary man, that with the nicest and most subtle powem
of discrimination and analysis, he united a vigorous
and rich vein of poetic fancy. In his writings he
frequently cites the bards of Greece, especially
Homer. This taste he imparted to his pupil, for
whose use he prepared a correct edition of the Iliad,
which obtained the name of the casket copy> from
the circumstance of its being enclosed in a rich cas-
ket, found after the siege of Gaza among the spoils
of Darius, in which that unfortunate monarch is said
to have kept his perfumed ointments. This edition
he constantly carried about with him in his wars, re-
garding it as " a portable treasure of military know-
ledge," and every night it was laid with his dagger
under his pillow. It is not improbable that the poe-
tical prelections of his master, and his admiration for
the verses of Homer, might tend to inflame that na-

MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE. 39

tural love of military glory which afterwards carried
him over the finest regions of the East, and taught
oim to weep for want of more worlds to conquer.*
But the bard of Troy was not his only companion
in these foreign expeditions. Plutarch says, that as
he could find no books in the upper provinces of Asia,
he wrote to Harpalus, and obtained most of the trage-
dies of Euripides, Sophocles, and ^Escliylus, with the
Dithyrambics of Telestus and Philoxenus. The same^
author alleges that Aristotle taught him the art of
medicine, a study with which he was not only ex-
ceedingly delighted in theory, but which he prac-
tised with considerable success among his friends.

That ethics and politics formed a prominent and
most important ingredient in the education of the
juvenile prince, is obvious from the writings which
the Stagirite devoted to the subject. He addressed
to his pupil, long after this period, a Treatise on Go-
vernment, instructing him how to reign, and exhort^
ing him to adjust the measure of his authority to the
particular characters, habits, and modes of thinking,
of the various classes of his subjects, according to a
maxim which he frequently inculcated, that different
nations require different modes of administration.
In his treatise on politics, he has carefully delineated
the plan of education best adapted to persons of the

* Plutarch says, that as soon as Alexander landed in Asia,
he visited Ilium, and offered libations to the Trojan heroes.
He anointed the pillar on the tomb of Achilles with oil,
and ran round it naked, after which he put a crown upon
it, exclaiming how happy that hero was in having a Hornet
to record his praise*

40 jdEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE.

highest rank in society ; and this plan we may sup-
pose he put in operation in performing the tank as-
signed him by Philip ; modified no douht according
to the character and circumstances of the extraordi-
nary youth for whose instruction it was prepared.
According to the principles laid down in that book,
the two years immediately following puberty consti-
tute that important era which is especially adapted
for improving and strengthening the bodily frame,
and for acquiring that corporeal vigour which is one
main- spring of mental energy. During this interest-
ing period, with the proper management of which the
future happiness of the whole life is so connerteo.
Aristotle observes, that the intellectual powers ought
indeed to be kept in play, but not too strenuously
exercised, since powerful exertions of the mind and
body cannot be made at once, nor the habits of
making them be simultaneously acquired. Agreeably
to this principle, Alexander was encouraged to pro-
ceed with alacrity in his exercises until he attained
the highest possible degree of perfection in them ;
after Which the whole bent of his mind was diverted
to the acquisition of science and philosophy.

The curiosity of the young Macedonian was too ar-
dent, and his judgment too acute, to rest satisfied with
the meagre and superficial doctrines which then com-
prised the sum of popular instruction. The discern-
ment of his preceptor easily perceived that his mind
was capable of being trained to whatever is most subtle
in distinction, and exalted by whatever is most lofty in
speculation ; and that his faculties, by thus expanding

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 41

and invigorating amidst objects of the highest intel-
lectual pursuits, might thereby learn the more readily
and the more perfectly to comprehend ordinary mat-
ters. This recondite philosophy, which Aristotle
first delivered to his royal pupil, and afterwards to
his hearers in the Lycseum at Athens, received the
epithet of Acroatic, to distinguish those parts of his
lectures which were confined to a select audience,
from such as were delivered to the public at large,
and these were called Exoteric. This technical di-
vision of the writings of the Stagirite, has given rise
to a variety of different opinions and disputes. Some
have imagined that in the two kinds of prelections just
noticed, he maintained contrary doctrines on the sub-
jects of religion and morality. But the fact is quite
the reverse ; his practical tenets being uniformly the
same in both. His Exoteric or popular Treatises,
nearly resembled the philosophical dialogues of Plato
or Cicero ; while his Acroatic writings, contained in a
concise energetic style peculiar to himself, those deep
and broad principles on which all science is built ;
and, independently of which, the most perverse rea-
sonings, and the most intricate combinations, are but
matters of common mechanical practice.*

The sublimity of this abstract and recondite philo-
sophy, accorded exactly with the loftiness of Alexan-
der's mind. Amidst the tumult and bustle of distant
war, he considered it a source of pride to have made
an acquisition which was then denied to the vulgar ;
* Dr Gfllies'a Analysis of Aristotle's Ethics and Politici.

42 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

and when these writings were given to the world, he
remonstrated with his master for having given others
an opportunity of becoming as learned as himself.
A correspondence on this subject has been preserved
by Plutarch, who records the following letter written
soon after the battle of Guagamela or Arbela, and
while the youthful hero was in full pursuit of Darius.

" ALEXANDER to ARISTOTLE — Health — You
have not done right in publishing your Acroatic dis-
courses, for wherein shall we be distinguished above
others, if the learning in which we have been instruct-
ed be made common to all ? As for me, I would
rather excel other men in knowledge than in power.
— Farewell."

In his reply, Aristotle rested his apology on the
abstruse nature of the subjects, and the impossibility
of comprehending them without the aid of verbal il-
mstration.

" ARISTOTLE to ALEXANDER — Health. — You
wrote to me concerning my Acroatic works, that they
ought not to have been communicated, but kept secret.
Know then, that though published, they are not made
public, since none can fully understand them, except
those who have heard my lectures. — Farewell."

From this it would appear that the Stagirite con-
sidered these writings merely as text-books or out-
lines of his course ; and we may infer that the true
cause of secrecy was the nature of the speculative
doctrines inculcated in them. That he had taught
his pupil a purer theology than that of the age and

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 48

country in which he lived, may be assumed, from
the fact, that, in the midst of his brilliant victories and
unexampled conquests, he reminded him of the supe-
riority of religious excellence to worldly greatness ;
concluding an epistle to him with this memorable ad-
monition, " that those who entertain just notions of
the Deity, are better entitled to be high-minded than
those who subdue kingdoms." Persecution for avow-
ing opinions differing from those of the national creed,
was not then uncommon in Greece ; and had the royal
preceptor ventured to maintain the unity and perfection
of God in plain and popular language, he must have
exposed himself to the tragical fate that overtook
Socrates.

It has been asserted by authors even so recent
as Brucker, that for sordid and selfish purposes
Aristotle accommodated the tenets of his philosophy
to the base morals of courts ; but his ethical writings
which still remain, and which are the most practically
useful of any that Pagan antiquity can boast, are an
ample refutation of a calumny, which must be ranked
as another " weak invention of the enemy." So sen-
sible was Alexander of the benefits derived from his
instructions, that he considered them more valuable
than the advantages he inherited from his father, be-
cause, as he used to remark, the one gave him life,
but the other had taught him to live well. " I have
not reigned to-day," is said to have been his ordinary
reflection, if a single day had passed without his do-
ing some worthy or benevolent action. Upon the

44 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

whole, it may be safely asserted, that if this extraor-
dinary prince, with all his faults, was distinguished
beyond others for the love of knowledge and virtue,
he was mainly indebted for this superiority to the
lessons of his teacher. The seeds of his haughtiness
and ambition were planted before Aristotle was in-
vited to take the direction of his education. The
passion for war, — the infirmity of noble minds, — could
neither be restrained nor moderated ; but to counter-
act that overruling propensity, his breast was inspired
with still more pure and exalted sentiments, which
placed him as far above the other conquerors of an-
tiquity, as they were themselves distinguished beyond
the common herd of mankind. If his loftiness could
not be subdued, it was made to combat as much as
possible upon the side of virtue ; his excellencies,
therefore, may fairly be ascribed to Aristotle, — his
defects to nature, and the example of a court, — his
misfortunes to himself, and the intoxicating effects
of unbounded prosperity.

At the age of twenty, Alexander succeeded to a
kingdom torn in pieces by dangerous factions and
implacable animosities. In a short time events cail-
ed him to a distant scene of action ; and, after an
affectionate intimacy of eight years, the pupil and
the preceptor separated for ever, to pursue, in a ca-
reer of almost equal duration, the most opposite
paths to the same immortal renown: — the one by
his victorious arms — the other by the gentle wea-
pons of philosophy; — the one by gratifying the most

MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE. 45

immoderate lust of power — the other by teaching
to despise this and all similar gratifications. When
the one set out on his eastern expedition, the
triumphs of which terminated in the course of ten
years by his premature death, the other quitted the
capital of Macedon, and returned to his beloved
Athens, where he spent the remainder of his life
(about thirteen years), instructing his disciples, and
cultivating, with unabated diligence, the various
branches of learning. It has been said that he ac-
companied the conqueror in his Asiatic wars ; that
he travelled with him over all Persia as far as the
land of the Brahmins (India), where he wrote a
work on the laws and institutions of two hundred
and fifty -five cities ; but this journey is a pure fabri-
cation, and we therefore dismiss it without further
comment. One circumstance may here be mentioned,
as it is the only one that seems to have occasioned
any suspicion or dislike between them. On leaving i
Alexander, Aristotle, preferring a life of study and
retirement, recommended, as a person worthy of ac-
companying him in his Persian expedition, his own
disciple and nephew Callisthenes, (son of Hero,) a
learned man, but of a morose unaccommodating
temper, unguarded in his speech, and obstinately
attached to the old system of republicanism which
Philip had overturned in Greece. His kinsman was
aware of his faults, and having observed the unsea-
sonable freedom with which he spoke to the king,
lie admonished him in a verse of Homer, " that his

46 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

unbridled tongue might shorten his days/* The
prophecy was literally fulfilled. Callisthenes, for-
getting the advice of Arrian, that the attendant of a
prince ought never to be wanting in due deference
to his will, rudely and outrageously opposed Alex-
ander's resolution of exacting the same marks of
homage and prostration from the Greeks which were
paid to him by the Persians. It is also said he had
joined a conspiracy against the life of his sovereign ;
having taken great offence that Hermolaus, a noble
youth who had studied philosophy under him, should
have been severely punished with stripes, for having
dared at a hunting-match to throw the first dart at
a wild boar in the royal presence. The conspira-
tors, it is added, were all stoned to death ; the plot
being discovered by one of their own number.

The punishment and fate of Callisthenes, whether
his treachery was real or imaginary, is related more
variously than almost any historical event of such pub-
lic notoriety ; some asserting that he perished in a
dungeon, after being mutilated of his ears, nose, and
limbs ; and others that he was carried about in an
iron cage, a miserable spectacle, covered with filth
and vermin, and at last devoured by a hungry lion*
Whatever might have been the manner of his death,
most writers concur in opinion, that he met with
the just reward of his rashness and arrogance. This
transaction is alleged to have much estranged the
affections of Alexander from his favourite preceptor
The assertion, however, is not accompanied with

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

any solid proof; and the absurd calumny that he not
only regarded this pretended displeasure as an in-*
jury, but even proceeded the length of joining in a
conspiracy to poison the king, is warranted by no-*
thing in history, except a report preserved in Plu«
larch, of a vague and hasty expression in a letter of
Alexander to Antipater, " I will punish the sophist
(Callisthenes)and those who sent him." The friend-
ly epistles addressed by him while in Asia to hif
former instructor, contradict the supposition of any
irritation or enmity between them.

Leaving the " Macedonian madman" to pursue
his conquests in the east, we must now return to
the personal history of the Stagirite. On arriving
at Athens, he found Xenocrates teaching in the
school of Plato, his predecessor Speusippus having
been dead four years. The character of Xenocra-
tes was that of dull gravity and rigid austerity. He
had been a fellow-student with Aristotle at the Aca-
demy, where the striking contrast of their genius '
did not escape the notice of Plato, who used to ex-
claim, " What a horse arid an ass have I to yoke to-
gether; Xenocrates requires the spur, Aristotle the
curb ;" alluding to the obtuseness of the one and
the acuteness of the other. The circumstance of
such a man having been exalted to the supreme
chair of philosophy, is said to have determined the
Stagirite to open a school on his own account ; re-
marking, " that it would be disgraceful for him to
be silent while Xenocrates publicly taught." This

48 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

observation some have thought to savour too much
of anogance and self-conceit to have been made by
Aristotle ; but whether it was ever uttered or not,
his success soon demonstrated that he had not rated
t.is scholastic talents too high. The Academy be-
ing in the possession of his friend, he made choice
of the Lycaeum, a place which Pericles had prepared
for the exercising of his soldiers, and which lay in
the immediate suburbs of Athens, on the banks of
the Ilissus. It was well shaded with trees, and
adorned with a temple of the Lyciati Apollo. Here
he established a gymnasium, where he taught philo-
sophy to such as had an inclination to hear his dis-
courses. It was his custom to teach walking con-
stantly every day along the shady avenue (or Peri"
paton) of the temple, until the hour of anointing,
which the Greeks generally performed before meals ;
and from this habit his scholars and his philosophy
derived the name of Peripatetic. His Acroatic lec-
tures were given in the morning to those who were
his regular pupils. A considerable part of them is
gtill preserved in his works, which form an abstract
or syllabus of treatises on the most important branches
of speculative science. His Exoteric discourses were
held tfter supper (always an early meal with the
ancients), at which occasional visitors were admit-
ted. They constituted the amusement of his even-
ing walks ; for he thought exercise peculiarly useful
after eating, for animating and invigorating the na-
tural heat and strength, which the too rapid succes-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 49

sion of sleep and food seemed fitted t.o relax and
impede.

By degrees the number of his auditors increased
so much, that he was obliged to desist from walk-
ing, and deliver his prelections sitting. The cele-
brity of the teacher speedily conferred a renown on
the Lycaeum, which eclipsed that of its rival, and
which has made the very name famous to all poste-
rity. Among his friends and disciples at this time
were numbered some of the most eminent men of
letters and philosophy in Greece. Not to mention
Antipater, the governor of Macedon, and successor
of Alexander, to whom he gave instructions ^ his
school could boast of Theophrastus, who wrote the
History of Plants, and a vast number of other works
— of Phanias, a celebrated logician — of Eudemua
of Rhodes, known for his analytical and geometrical
writings — of Eudemus of Cyprus, whom Aristotle
honoured so highly as to call his " Dialogue of the
Soul" after his name — of Dicaearchus, an orator and
geometrician, whom Plutarch ranks among the best
of philosophers — of Aristoxenus, whose ingratitude
has already been mentioned, as the calumniator of
his master — of Hipparchus of Stagira — Leon the
sophist — j^Eschiron, a heroic poet of Mitylene —
Hieronimus the Rhodian — Heraclides of Pontus, a
noted philologist — all of whom, with many others, are
acknowledged to have studied in the Lycaeum, where
she attendance was so numerous and distinguished,
that Nicander of Alexandria wrote a book expressly

D

50 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

upon the subject. Had this work survived, the ca-
talogue would have been more perfect, but unfortu*
nately it is no longer extant.

Like other great men, Aristotle had enemies and
detractors, as well as admirers. Of their calumni-
ous charges, some were so absurd as to refute them-
selves. They have been perpetuated in the sar-
casms of Lucian, and the lying whispers of Athe-
nseus, which, in more recent times, have been too
often mistaken, even by the learned, for true his-
tory. In Athens, the jealousy and envy which
usually accompany superior talents, were inflamed
by philosophical prejudices, and professional rivalry
Sophists and sciolists, soothsayers and satirists, as-
sailed the Stagirite, and vied with each other in
heaping obloquy on a character, the ornament of
his own age, and destined for many centuries to be
the great instructor of mankind. So long as Alex-
ander lived, whose name then filled the whole civi-
lized world, his preceptor was unmolested, even
amidst the turbulence of the Athenian democracy ;
and it was not till the year following the death of
that prince, that the rancorous malignity which had
been suppressed burst forth against Aristotle with
resistless violence. That he regarded with equal
contempt vain pretenders to real science, and real
professors of sciences which he deemed vain and
frivolous, is obvious from innumerable passages in
his moral and political works. But it was on ac-
count of his theological opinions, which, as we have
stated al»*ve were too refined for the grossness of

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 5J

paganism, that he was cited before the tribunals of
his country; — a mere pretext, to give a plausible
disguise to the conspiracy formed against his life.

Accordingly, he was accused of impiety before the
Areopagus by the hierophant (or priest) Eurymedon,
abetted by Demophilus, a man of more weight in
the Republic ; both of them being instigated to this
cruel persecution by the declared enemies of the ac-
cused. The heads of the accusation were — that he
had introduced certain philosophical tenets, contrary
to the religion of the Athenians ; that he had ho-
noured the memory of his wife Pythias and his
friend Hermias with hymns and statues — ceremonies
which belonged solely to the majesty of the gods.
As the inscription on the altar and the ode in praise
of Hermias have both been preserved, nothing more
is required to shew the utter groundlessness of the
accusation ; and from the frivolous nature of this
charge, which was considered the chief article in the
impeachment, we may warrantably conjecture, that
the reproach of worshipping Pythias with honours
due to the Eleusinian Ceres, was equally unfound-
ed. A more reasonable and a more natural infe-
rence might have been, that the virtues of the wife
had inspired the husband with more than a common
degree of attachment ; and that, after her death, he
had expressed his affectionate regard with an amiable
enthusiasm, which the malice of his enemies con-
strued into an act of criminal idolatry. As for the
alleged impiety of his philosophical tenets, his denial

52 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

of a Providence, and the consequent inutility of
prayers and sacrifices, these imputations are not only
not corroborated in any of his writings, but clearly
and uniformly contradicted. He enumerates the
priesthood as among the functions or offices essen-
tially requisite to the existence of every community;
and he has shown his veneration for religion in ge-
neral, by treating with tenderness even that distort-
ed image of it reflected in the puerile superstitions
uf his country. Truth, however, is always dreaded
by the interested supporters of popular errors ; and
the Athenian priests had more to apprehend from
his enlightened theology than to fear from his pre-
tended impiety.

Aristotle was not unprepared for this persecution,
and, had his cause been tried before an impartial
tribunal, defeat and disgrace must have recoiled up-
on his accusers. He is said to have composed an
oration in his own defence, and to have inveighed
in a strong metaphor against the increasing degene-
racy of his fellow-citizens, by citing a verse from
the Odyssey,

Pear withers after pear,
And fig on fig rots here,

alluding to the swarms of informers (or sycophants)
and false accusers, which sprung up daily in Athens,
in as regular succession as the fruits in the rich gar-
dens of Alcinous. This discourse, the boldness of
which could only have inflamed the blind zeal of hia

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLfc. 53

weak or wicked judges, was not delivered in Court.
Perceiving that his fate was inevitable, the phi-
losopher stole privately away from the city, thus
escaping the idle mockery of a trial ; and being un-
willing, as he expresses it, that the Athenians should
have a second opportunity of committing a capital
crime against philosophy — alluding to the death of
Socrates, who had fallen a victim to the intolerant'
superstition of his age.

On leaving Athens, Aristotle directed his steps
to Chalcis in Euboea, and in this retreat he spent
the remainder of his days. Here he was waited up-
on by the whole company of his disciples 'and fol-
lowers, who besought him to make choice of a suo
cessor, to whom they might look up as the director
and finisher of their studies. The pre-eminent me-
rits of Theophrastus and Eudemus, the latter fron>
Rhodes and the former of Lesbos, were universally
acknowledged ; and in deciding their claims, the
prudent sage, to avoid giving offence, had recourse
to a gentle artifice. Having requested a draught of
Rhodian wine, he admitted it was strong and plea-
sant ; but when he had tasted the Lesbian, he pro-
nounced it the sweeter of the two — thus leaving his
auditors to infer, in the true style of eastern parable,
on whom his choice had fallen. Theophrastus wa€
not only remarkable for genius and erudition : he ex-
celled as an orator, as the very name imports which
is expressive of his divine eloquence. His writings
were numerous, and Diogenes has preserved the

54 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

titles of above 200 treatises, only a few of which
are extant. The fame of the Lycseum, which the
Stagirite himself had maintained unimpaired through
life, was amply sustained by his successor, whose
increasing reputation soon attracted an audience of
2000 scholars. His friendship was courted by some
of the most powerful kings and princes of his time,
amongst whom were Cassander and Ptolemy, who
had succeeded Alexander on the thrones of Macedon
and Egypt.

Aristotle did not long survive his retirement to
the shores of Euboea. He died within twelve
months after leaving Athens ; persecution and exile
having probably shortened his days, as he was only
in his sixty-third year. The manner of his death,
like various circumstances in his life, gave rise to
many false and contradictory reports. St Justin
says that he died of shame and vexation at not be-
ing able to explain the cause of the tides in the Eu-
ripus, an arm of the sea on which Chalcis stood,
and which, as Lucian avers, ebbed and flowed seven
times in twenty-four hours. Upon this assertion
has been engrafted the puerile story, that he threw
himself into the waves in despair, exclaiming, " Eu-
ripus shall take Aristotle, since Aristotle cannot
comprehend Euripus." Suidas states that he poi-
soned himself by drinking hemlock — an assertion at
variance with truth, and rendered altogether impro-
oable, from the fact, that in his writings the Stagirite
always speaks of suicide as a shameful and cowardly

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 55

crime. According to Laertius, Dionysius, and other
creditable authors, his death was occasioned by the
natural infirmity of his stomach, which was greatly
increased by over-watching and excess of study.
To this malady he had long been subject, and to
assuage it he was in the habit of applying a bottle of
xvarm oil to his breast. Considering his frequent
indisposition, it is more remarkable, as one of his
biographers observes, that he lived so long, than that
he did not live longer. Some have recorded the
dying words which he is said to have addressed to
those standing around him, '* Thou Cause of Causes
have mercy on me ;" but their genuineness may be
doubted, as they rest on no authority more ancient
than the testimony of a Christian writer. The Sta-
girites brought the body of their philosopher from
Chalcis to his native place, where it was buried with
vast solemnity, and where a magnificent tomb was
built, and an altar erected to his memory.

Of Aristotle's appearance and habits little is
known. In stature he was short, having slender
limbs, a high nose, small eyes, a weak voice, and a
stammering hesitation in his speech. It was per-
haps to make amends for the niggardly bounty of na-
ture, that he took more than ordinary pains in the
dress and ornaments of his person. His constitu-
tion was delicate and sickly, but he counteracted its
infirmities by temperance. His application to books
was indefatigable. So incessant was he in the pur-
suit of knowledge, that he regularly devoted to it

56 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

those hours which he stole from the necessary sea-
son of repose ; for Laertius affirms, that, when he
went to bed, he held a hrazen ball in his hand, the
noise of which, dropping into a metal basin when he
fell asleep, might awake him to resume his studies ;
and in this practice he was imitated by his royal pupil
Alexander. He was twice married. By his first
wife he had a daughter, called after her own name
(Pythias), who survived her father, and gave birth to
a second Aristotle, of whom nothing except this cir-
cumstance has been recorded. His second wife was
Herpylis, a native of Stagira, and basely defamed by
the enemies of her husband, as a courtezan and a
concubine. By her he had an only son, Nicomachus,
ivho was a disciple of Theophrastus, and fell in bat-
tle at an early age. To him he dedicated his great
work on Morals, called " Nicomachea," which, as it
was the last and principal object of his studies, is of
all his performances the longest, the best connected,
and incomparably the most interesting.

His will, a copy of which is preserved in Laertius,
is curious, not merely as throwing some light on his
domestic affairs, but as an example of the distinct
yet concise form of ancient testamentary deeds. If
indited shortly before he expired, it refutes the fables
about his committing suicide, and may be reckoned
an evidence that he not only died a natural death,
but with a calmness and composure worthy of
philosopher. Antipater, the confidential minister 01
Philip, and afterwards viceroy of Macedon, was ap*

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 57

pointed the executor of this testament, with an autho-
rity paramount, as appears, to that of the other per-
sons who were afterwards conjoined with him in the
guardianship of his widow and children. To Her-
pylis, besides other property in money and slaves,
was left the choice of two houses, the one in Chal-
cis, the other his paternal mansion at Stagira ; with
instructions that whichever of them she might prefer
to inhabit, might be properly furnished for her re-
ception. The testator commends her domestic vir-
tues, and requests his friends, that, in testimony of
her faithfulness towards him, they would distinguish
her by the kindest attention ; and that, should she
again think of a husband, they would be careful to
provide for her a suitable match. To his son Ni-
comachus, and his daughter Pythias, he bequeathed
the remainder of his fortune, with the exception of
/us library and writings, which he left to his favourite
< scholar Theophrastus, one of the trustees. It was x
stipulated, that his daughter, when she attained a
marriageable age (being then about fourteen years
old), should be given to Nicanor, the son of Proxe-
nus, whom he had adopted ; and, failing him, that
Theophrastus himself should accept her hand and
fortune ; on which happy occasion, four of his slaves
were to obtain their manumission. The bones of
his first wife he ordered to be disinterred, and laid
beside his own, as she herself had requested. None
of his slaves were to be sold ; they were all to be
either emancipated by his will, or ordered to be set

58 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

free by his heirs, so soon as they seemed worthy of
liberty ; an injunction conformable to the maxim in-
culcated in his Politics, that slaves of all descrip-
tions ought to be liberated whenever they merited
freedom, and were qualified for enjoying it. The
testament concludes with instructions as to the per-
formance of such marks of respect as he considered
due to the memory of his relations, and to the religion
of his country ; viz. the erecting of the statues he
had dedicated to Proxenus and his wife ; to his own
mother and brother, Arimnestus; and, finally, to
Jupiter and Minerva, the Preservers (S&>r»j^g?), which
he had vowed to them for the health of Nicanor.
These latter were to be placed at Stagira, and to con-
sist of " statues of beasts of stone of four cubits."

The private character of Aristotle seems to have
been irreproachable. That he had many detractors,
who envied him his popularity, and have transmitted
very unfavourable accounts of his moral qualities,
has already been mentioned. Some earned their
extravagant censures so high, as to accuse him of
every vice that can degrade human nature. He was
stigmatized as a glutton, a libertine, and a parasite,
adapting his philosophy to the corrupt practices of
the great ; as a sordid miser, who sold the oil which
he had used medicinally, and even the empty brass
pots in which it was contained ; and as an ungrate-
ful ci tizen, who betrayed the place of his birth to the
Macedonians. These and numerous other charges
were the pure offspring of calumny, and owe their

MEMOIR OF AK1STOTLE. 59

propagation to the zeal of philosophical rivalry.
The circumstances of his life, and the esteem in
which he was universally held by his contemporaries,
afford evidence enough, that the dark side of the
picture has been greatly overcharged. Of this we
have still more decisive proof in the tone and spirit
of his writings, especially the ethical part of them,
which breathes a purer morality than is to be found
in any antecedent author ; a morality, also, avowed-
ly practical, and by which he would have stood self-
condemned, had his own conduct been at variance
with it. " He exhibited a character as a man (says
a modern biographer) worthy of his pre-eminence
as a philosopher ; inhabiting courts without mean-
ness and without selfishness ; living in schools with-
out pride and without austerity ; cultivating with
ardent affection every domestic and every social vir-
tue ; while, with indefatigable industry, he reared
that wonderful edifice of science, the plan of which
we are still enabled to delineate from his imperfect
and mutilated writings." The humanity of his na-
ture appears in the different acts of kindness which
he conferred on his relatives and benefactors ; and his
scrupulous regard for truth is preserved in his me-
morable saying — amicus Socrates, amicus Plato, sed
magis arnica veritas, " Socrates is dear, and Plato is
dear, but truth dearer than all." He possessed con-
siderable facetiousness of disposition ; and in his po-
litical works are to be found many strokes of genu-
ine humour, little suspected by his commentators.

60 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

As the wisdom of the ancients was often conveyed
in apophthegms of pithy and oracular brevity, so his
gravest maxims were frequently seasoned with inno-
cent pleasantry. His smart sayings and quick re*
partees were long remembered and admired by those
incapable of appreciating his weightier merits. Some
of them have been preserved by Laertius, of which
a few may be given as examples. Being reproved
for bestowing alms on a profligate, he said, " he
gave not to the man but to humanity." Being ask-
ed, what of all things grows soonest old ? he replied,
" Gratitude." Of friendship he said, " it was one
soul in two bodies." Being told that one had reviled
him, " let him beat me too (said he) when 1 am ab-
sent." To an idle babbler who had detained him,
and expressed his fear that he had been tedious, he
answered, " Not at all, for I paid no attention to
your discourse." Hearing a conceited youth boast-
ing of his fine cloak, " It was but a silly vanity (he
said) to be proud of a sheep's fleece." A handsome
young man much courted, thus accosted him, " If I
were hated by the citizens as you are, I would hang
myself." " And I (replied the other) would hang
myself if I were admired by them as you are." It
was as impossible, he said, for a tattler to keep a
secret, as for a man to hold a burning coal in his
mouth. Being asked what advantage he had de-
rived from philosophy, he answered, " that of doing
voluntarily what others do through fear of the laws."
Such apophthegms, some of which are probably spu-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 61

rious, would hardly deserve to be noticed, did they
not serve to shew a mind free and unencumbered
amidst the abstrusest studies, and a readiness of wit
which never failed to check arrogance, and repel the
%neers of the impertinent.

His unwearied application to study has been al-
ready noticed, and he took great pains that his dis-
ciples should follow his example. In the Lycaeum
their industry was remarkable. An archon, or re-
gent, was chosen from amongst themselves every ten
days, to superintend their progress and enforce the
due observance of the stated rules of the school.
Scientific lectures were given, and exercises pre-
scribed to the students, both in the dialectical and
rhetorical form. To assist them in the acquisition
of every kind of learning, their master had taken
care to collect a variety of books, which were con-
stantly open to their perusal. Strabo, indeed, says
that he was the first who formed a regular library ;
and that Ptolemy Philadelphua received directions \
from him as to the proper method of arranging the
celebrated one which he founded. That he might
have given suggestions as to the collecting and dis-
posing of literary works, may be fairly admitted ;
but that no considerable libraries existed before his
time, is neither probable nor consistent with history
which mentions several, both princes and private
persons, anterior to that age, who had made collec-
tions, and possessed repositories of books. His con-
duct towards the writers that preceded him, has

62 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

been censured with more acrimony than justice.
Lord Bacon says, that, after the manner of the Otto-
man princes, he thought his throne could not be se-
cure unless he killed all his brethren. Ludovicus
Vives charges him with detracting from all philoso-
phers, that he might appropriate that glory to him-
self of which he had robbed them. It has also been
averred that he rarely quotes an author but with
ft view to censure, and is not very fair in represent-
ing the opinions which he censures ; and that, after
collecting from the works of the ancients what he
intended to confute, he committed them to the flames,
that no evidence might remain of his misrepresenta-
tions. His passion for fame was undoubtedly great ;
and Bacon's opinion is not without probability, that
his ambition was as boundless as that of his royal
p upil — the one aspiring at universal monarchy over
the bodies and fortunes of men ; the other over their
opinions. If such were the case, it cannot be said
that the philosopher pursued his aim with less ability
or less success than the hero. But the allegation
that he burnt the works of his predecessors, is con-
tradicted by the circumstance of his having establish-
ed a reading depot in the Lycaeum, and by the fact
that most of the books said to have been thus de-
stroyed, are mentioned by Cicero as extant in his time.
Whatever advantages Aristotle derived from ac-
cess to an extensive perusal of the literary labours of
others, he was too honest to plume himself with a
borrowed reputation "^liere is a candour and man-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 63

liness strikingly discernible in all his writings ; not
professedly set forth, but interwoven with the tex-
ture of his discussions, and rather betrayed uncon-
sciously than demanding to be recognised. His
knowledge acquired by reading can therefore only
be reckoned an accidental help to the display of
those amazing powers of reason and reflection which
he naturally possessed, and which may be said to
have qualified him to survey, with the discerning eye
of intuition, every object of human understanding.
There is scarcely a phenomenon which the natural
world presents, or the human mind conceives to be
the subject of scientific or speculative investigation, to
which he did not extend his inquiries. In his Ethics
he has given a full and satisfactory delineation of
the moral nature of man, and of the discipline and
exercise best adapted to its improvement. In his
Politics he considers men in their social capacity,
depending mainly for their happiness and perfection
on the public institutions of their respective coun-
tries. To ascertain what are the different arrange-
ments that have been found, under given circum-
stances, practically most conducive to these grand
and ultimate purposes, is the important question
which he undertakes to solve. The labour he be-
stowed on the inquiry may be conceived from the
fact, that he had carefully examined two hundred
systems of legislation, many of which are nowhere
else described. In what may be termed speculative
science he stood unrivalled, and it was in this de-

64 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

partment that the fertility and ingenuity of his intel-
lect was most signally displayed.

Some authors accuse him of having studied to be
obscure for the sake of being thought original, and
of being less anxious to discover truth than to ac-
quire fame. " His writings (says Dr Reid) carry
too evident marks of that philosophical pride, va-
nity, and envy, which have often sullied the charac-
ter of the learned. He determines boldly things
above all human knowledge, and enters upon the
most difficult questions, as his pupil entered upon a
battle, with full assurance of success. He delivers
his decisions oracularly, and without any fear of mis-
take. Rather than confess his ignorance, he hides
it under hard words and ambiguous expressions, of
which his interpreters may make what they please.
There is even reason to suspect that he wrote often
with affected obscurity, either that the air of mys-
tery might procure greater veneration, or that his
hooks might be understood only by the adepts who
had been initiated in his philosophy." * That there
may be some truth in the charge of vanity cannot
be denied, and this " infirmity of noble minds" was to
be expected in a man who had the daring ambition
to be transmitted to all future ages as the Prince of
Philosophers — as one who had earned every branch
of human knowledge to its utmost limit. But it is
manifestly unfair to impute to him all the obscurities,
errors, and contradictions, that are now to be found
^r Reid's Analysis of Aristotle's Logic.

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 65

in his writings ; considering that the greatest, and
perhaps the best, part of them are lost, and that his
copyists and interpreters have ascribed to him innu-
merable opinions which he did not hold ; while by
universally confounding his solid sense with the fan-
cies of Plato, they have introduced incongruities and
absurdities of which he was never guilty.

We do not say with some of his extravagant ad-
mirers, that he treated all his subjects in a manner
complete, so as to surpass every preceding exertion of
the human intellect. This eulogium is only partial-
ly true. But the praise and merit must be allowed
him of having introduced and exemplified a stricter
method of philosophising than what had been before
observed in the Grecian schools. In every doctrine
and theory he excluded the mixtures of poetry and
fable which, in some degree, still prevailed ; and he
endeavoured to subject every hypothesis to the test
of reason and argument. He framed with penetra-
tion and acuteness superior to all others, the rules
of logical induction and demonstrative reasoning. It
was from the accuracy and the novelty of his sys-
tem in this respect, as well as from the universality
of his genius, which appeared to master every subject
of study with equal facility, that some of the ablest
judges in antiquity, on perusing his elaborate treatises
on the different branches of knowledge, hesitated not
to pronounce him " the most excellent in all science,
Plato only excepted." This is the opinion of Cicero,
to whose philosophical works the world at large is

66 MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE.

more indebted for a familiar notion ot several of Aris-
totle's most important doctrines, than to the labours
of all his commentators collectively.* The enco-
mium, however, must not be understood to imply
that the ancients approved exclusively of his physi-
cal and moral theories as preferable to all other sys-
tems ; or that they gave an entire and unlimited as-
sent to all his tenets. Even his own disciples and
successors in the LycaBum disagreed with him on cer-
tain points ; nor did the followers of other sects, who
commented on parts of his works which they thought
most ingenious, espouse his general principles, or
acknowledge him their master in philosophy. Such
servile adoration did not obtain until the dark age of
literature arose, in which all taste for liberal inquiry
became extinct, and the human faculties themselves
appeared to be sunk in irretrievable torpor. It was
then that the benighted world embraced him as an
infallible guide, and bowed with submissive indolence
to his dogmas. Revering him as an oracle, they be-
lieved that where his text was obscure, it was to be
explained into some profound meaning which, being
inexpressible by any known words, might be denot-
ed by terms of their own invention, that had either
a very dubious sense, or were as unintelligible as

* " Cum omnis ratio diligens disserendi duas habet partes,
unam inveniendi, alteram judicandi, utriusque Princeps,
ut mihi quidem videtur, Aristoteles fuit." — Cicero in Topic.
And again, "Aristoteles longe omnibus (Platonem semper
excipio) praestans et ingenio, et diiigentia." — Tusculan.
Quest, lib. i.

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 67

the original. By these means was Aristotle at length
not merely exalted to the throne of philosophy, but
enshrined as it were the inspired and presiding ge-
nius of science. Never was papal despotism over
the consciences of men more absolute, than was the
authority of the Stagirite over their minds and opi-
nions. The power of the greatest monarchs on earth
must appear fleeting and precarious, when compared
with his long and solitary reign in the schools of the
middle ages.

From this summary of the life and character of
Aristotle, we must now turn to give a condensed
survey of his voluminous works. According to the
most credible accounts, he composed about 400 dif-
ferent treatises on the various subjects which then
formed the curriculum of scholastic study, including
Logic, Rhetoric, Ethics, Politics, Physics, Meta-
physics, Mathematics, Optics, Astronomy, Music,
Mechanics, Medicine, Philology, Physiology, Natu-
ral History, Epistles, and many other topics, which
it would be tedious to enumerate. It appeal's that
neither he nor Theophrastus were at pains to secure
the publication of their works during their lifetime ;
and the cause of their negligence or nonperformance
of this important task, has been the theme of much
conjecture. The solution of the question may de-
pend on collateral circumstances with which we are
altogether unacquainted : but the current persuasion
was, that it arose either from an excess of modesty
or prudence; or, from a diffidence of success in com-

68 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

peting with Plato, who then stood pre-eminent in
philosophical fame, and whose opinions he had in se-
veral material points impugned. Whatever the fact
may be, the carelessness or timidity of Aristotle
was fatal to his writings, and had well nigh created
a blank in literary history, which might have for ever
deprived the world of this invaluable treasury of an-
cient learning.

The extraordinary fate and miraculous preserva-
tion of these works, form a curious episode in the
biography of their author ; and the regret which
every friend to science must feel, that so much
has perished, is heightened by reflecting on the
imperfect and mutilated state of the little that re-
mains. Whilst the Stag-kite distributed his other
property to his surviving family, he left the more
precious bequest of his library and manuscripts to
his favourite disciple Theophrastus, who in his turn
bequeathed them to his own scholar Neleus, by whom
they were conveyed from Athens to Scepsis, his na-
tive place, a city of the ancient Troas, in Asia Mi-
nor. The heirs of Neleus, to whom they next de-
scended, being neither men of letters, nor lovers of
books, (as Strabo relates,) totally neglected the intel-
lectual treasure that had most unworthily devolved
to them. The magnificence of kings had then be-
gun to display itself in collecting works of ge-
nius, which were sought out with an eager and la-
vish curiosity. It was a taste happy for the caufce
of literature in general, although in the present in-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 69

stance, the occasion of serious misfortune. The
Scepsions on hearing that Eumenes, king of Perga-
mus, in whose dominions they lived, was making ex-
tensive researches with the view of forming a large
library, resorted to a selfish expedient for securing
their literary property from the rapacious hands of
their sovereign. With the caution incident to the
subjects of a despot, who often have recourse to con-
cealment in order to avoid robbery, they hid the
books under ground ; and in this subterranean ce-
metery the writings of Aristotle, as well as the vast
collection of materials from which they had been
composed, lay buried for many generations, a prey to
dampness and worms. Some authors, such as Bayle
and Patricius, allege that Neleus sold the original
works and the whole library to Ptolemy Philadel-
phus of Egypt, after having transcribed them ; and
that it was only the copies and not the originals that
vere exposed to the unworthy fate of rotting in a
humid cell. But the supposition is altogether im-
probable. On the one hand it is hardly credible that
so many thousand volumes could have been tran-
scribed in so short a time ; and on the other, it is
reasonable to believe that the philosophy of the Ly-
caeum would have struck deeper root and made
greater progress in the Egyptian capital than it ever
did, had the genuine works of the Stagirite adorned
the library of Alexandria, under the first Ptolemies.
In their catacomb at Scepsis, the manuscripts re-
mained until their very existence seems to have been

70 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

forgotten. At length, after the lapse of 130 years,
and when all hope of their ever seeing the light must
have vanished, vanity and avarice accomplished what
a nobler motive ought to have done. Apellicon, a
rich disciple of the Peripatetic school, whose name
has heen already mentioned, while residing at Athens,
had turned his attention to the collecting of books ;
and although a " bibliosophist rather than a philoso-
pher," (as Strabo calls him), he courted the ostenta-
tion of scholarship, by ordering them to be pur-
chased at the dearest rate. The " witless felons of
philosophy" at Scepsis heard of his premiums and
opened their vault. The volumes of Aristotle and
his illustrious successor were thus released from pri-
son, or rather dug from the grave, and, with all the
injuries of moths and mouldering upon them, sold
for a large sum, and carried back to the city where
they had been originally written. Their new owner
was at the expense of employing a number of copy-
ists to transcribe them, himself superintending the
task. The work of restoring them was very imper-
fectly executed, and this must be attributed not only
to the ignorance of the transcribers, but to the tat-
tered condition of the manuscripts, and the abstruse
nature of the subjects. The most considerable part
of his Acroatic works, which are almost the whole
of those now remaining, consist of little else than
text-books, containing the detached heads of his
discourses ; and from a want of connexion in the
matter, they have been exposed to additional cor-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 71

ruption from the conjectural emendations of subse-
quent commentators.

Wbat became of Aristotle's original manuscripts
we are not informed ; but the copy remained at
Athens until the spoliation of that city by the Ro-
mans under Sylla. The library of Apellicon was a
tempting object of plunder to the conquerors, who
were then awakened to the value of literature ; and
accordingly, the whole of this philosophical trea-
sure, with other rich booty, were transmitted to
Rome. There the works of the Stagirite expe-
rienced a better fortune, owing to their having at-
tracted the attention of Tyrannio, the famous gram-
marian, a native of Amysus in Pontus, who had been
taken prisoner by Lucullus in the Mithridatic war,
but was afterwards manumitted, in consideration of
his learning and merits. By paying court to Sylla's
librarian, he obtained leave, after much solicitation, to
take copies of the manuscripts, which were commu-
nicated to Andronicus of Rhodes, who flourished as
a philosopher at Rome in the time of Cicero and
Pompey. Having undertaken the task of arranging
and correcting those long-injured writings, the Rho-
dian performed the duty of a skilful editor, by giving
them to the world in a more perfect shape than they
had hitherto appeared. Though considerably amend-
ed and illustrated, the severe ordeal through which
they passed had, in the lapse of nearly 300 years,
greatly abridged their number. Out of the 400
books recorded by Laertius (and some have made

72 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

them double that amount), only forty-eight have
been transmitted to the present age. But many of
these last consist of several books ; and, according
to the estimate of the laborious Fabricius, the whole
of these remains, taken together, form a golden
stream of Greek erudition, exceeding four times the
collective bulk of the Iliad and Odyssey *.

Though the works edited by Andronicus had suf-
fered injuries which the utmost diligence and saga-
city could not completely repair, yet, in consequence
of those labours, the Peripatetic philosophy began
to resume the lustre of which it had been deprived
since the days of Theophrastus. In the Lycseum,
the precepts of the sect were preserved through a
line of successive teachers, by viva voce instructions ;
and it is not impossible that the disciples may have
had portions of their great master's lectures written
down ; yet the details of the system were evidently
entrusted to the tablets of memory. At Rome, the
productions of the Stagirite made few converts at
first ; and even in Cicero's time, their perusal was
confined to a few of the learned. This sect, there-
fore, in the Augustan age, made no considerable ap-
pearance in that capital ; and, with the exception of
Lucretius, we scarcely find among the Roman poets

* By this calculation, the whole of Aristotle's works
must have contained a quantity of prose equal to sixteen
times 28,088 verses — a fact the more extraordinary, since
the greater part of his writings are merely outlines or text-
books, giving the heads of his lectures, or the chief topics
of discussion in the different branches of science.

ISITY

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

of that period any allusion to the doctrines of the
Peripatetic school, or the philosophical renown of its
founder. The edition of Andronicus made them
better known, as his example of studying and illus-
trating them was soon followed by various other
commentators.

To enumerate the host of Greek, Latin, Jewish,
Arabic, and Christian writers who imitated the
Rhodian editor in giving expositions and criticisms
on the different works of Aristotle, would be foreign
to our purpose. Their very names would fill a vo-
lume. From the era of Augustus to the invention
of printing, the works of the Stagirite passed through
the hands of more than 10,000 commentators ; and
after that period, several thousands more were added
to the catalogue, amongst whom are to be classed
not a few of the venerable fathers of the church, who
borrowed from this armoury the intellectual weapons
which rendered them invincible in their theological
wars. The first generation of these expositors be-
gan in the age of the Antonines with the labours
of Taurus the Berissean, Adrastus, Alexander the
Aphrodisaean at Rome, Galen the celebrated physi-
cian, Atticus the Platonist, and Ammonius Sacchus
of Alexandria. Under the Roman emperors, they '
continued to flourish ; and in the long list we find
the once revered names of Aspasius, Syrianus,
Olympiodorus, Plotinus, Porphyry, Themistius, Pro-
clus, the second Ammonius, Damascius, Simplicius,
Philopoimsj and Johannes Damascenus. By the

74 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

Arabs or Saracens, Aristotle was superfititiously
adored, and his philosophy was ardently studied in
their schools during upwards of four centuries. His
metaphysical niceties were well adapted to the acute
mental temperament of that ingenious people. In
dispute all parties acknowledged his supremacy, and
appealed to his assistance. The doctors of the
Mosque easily laid prostrate the most stubborn ar-
guments both of Jews and Christians against the
truth of the Koran with the resistless artillery of
his syllogisms. To translate or produce a commen-
tary on his works, appeared to them the highest
pitch of excellence to which the genius of man could
attain. The most eminent of these oriental exposi-
tors, whose fame long resounded even in the schools
of Europe, were Alkendi, Alfarabi, Rhazes, Avi-
cenna, and Averroes, who, in the felicitous obscu-
rity of their opinions, often surpassed their master.
When the literature of the Saracens was extinguish-
ed at the taking of Bagdad by the Tartars in 1258,
the illustration of the Aristotelian philosophy was
prosecuted with unabated vigour in the Western
Empire. So early as the sixth century, his logic
assumed a Latin dress in the translation of Boethius
Severinus, the last illustrious Consul of Rome. In
this field the venerable Bede has also signalized him-
self; and during the middle ages, a few learned
monks exercised their ingenuity on the same sub-
ject. After a long interval of nearly 700 years,
translations and commentaries in the same language

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 75

fregan to abound, through the industry of Albertue
Magnut, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, John Ma-
jor (a native of Iladdington), Theodore Gaza, Fran-
ciscus, a Jesuit of Cordova, with a swarm of gram-
marians and scholastics whom the art of typography
had multiplied so abundantly that, towards the close
of the sixteenth century, Patricias reckoned their
number at 12,000. This cold and unintelligible
mass of Gothic and Saracenic dulness is now con-
signed to just oblivion.

It may seem extraordinary that a philosophy thus
disfigured by a succession of interpreters often more
worthy of ridicule than of admiration, should have
so long maintained an absolute ascendency over the
minds of men. But the fact is easily explained.
During the intellectual slumber of the western world,
the human faculties had neither the light of letters
to detect false glosses, nor mental energy to eman-
cipate reason and conscience from the thraldom of
ignorance and superstition. The sway of the Sta-
gii'ite, however, was not always untroubled. Launoy
enumerates eight different revolutions of his autho-
rity in the University tff Paris, the oldest and long
the most distinguished school in Europe. In the
year 1 209, his writings were condemned as the pes-
tilent sources of heresy, and committed to the
flames. In 1542, the same writings were held in
such veneration, that whoever denied their ortho-
doxy was persecuted as an infidel. Peter Ramus, a
Parisian Professor of that age (1551-1572), signa-

76 MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE.

lized himself as among the earliest to impugn the in-
fallibility of this great oracle of philosophy. He
wrote twenty hooks of Animadversions against Aris-
totle's Logic, eight against his Physics, and fourteen
against his Metaphysics — a boldness which proved
fatal, as it made him first an exile and at length a
martyr. It is but fair to add, that in the glory or
disgrace which the schools then attached to his opi-
nions, the Stagirite had no concern. The true spi-
rit and meaning of his philosophy was completely re-
fined away by the fanciful glosses of copyists and cri-
tics; so that those scholastic combatants who banish-
ed or murdered each other in his name, fought mere-
ly about the husks of science, without the kernel.

These observations are particulaily just as ap-
plied to the absurd jargon or logomachy which pass-
ed for learning, and during five centuries and a half
divided Europe between the two renowned sects of
Nominalists and Realists ; so called because the for-
mer, whose reputed founder was Roscellinus, Canon
of Compeigne, in the eleventh century, held the doc-
trine of universals in logic to depend solely on names
or words, and treated as mere illusions of fancy the
Platonic ideas of their opponents, who regarded as
their founder the celebrated monk Abelard, immor-
talized by his amorous follies and misfortunes, and
numbered among their champions Anselm, arch-
bishop of Canterbury. Under the banners of one
or other of these factions, the learning of Christen-
dom arrayed itself during a succession of many ge-

MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE. 77

Derations. In their fierce and scandalous disputes,
tie pugilistic doctors proceeded from words to blows,
which often terminated in mutilation or death. In
the hottest of the fray, the name of Aristotle was
continually invoked, and his doctrines appealed to
on both sides, though both parties flagrantly violated
his authority — the Realists embodying their wild fan-
cies under the name of substantial forms — while the
^Nominalists subtilised all knowledge, even theology
itself, into shadowy notions arid unmeaning terms.

During the prevalence of these gross corruptions
in the Schools, and even amid the gloom of Go-
thic and Saracenic darkness, a few stars brightened
the literary horizon, and voices were raised in favour
of genuine philosophy. The calumniated and pffer-
secuted Roger Bacon, soaring above the ignorance
of his times, maintained that Aristotle, rightly un-
derstood, was the fountain of all knowledge ; and he
asserted, with equal candour and firmness, that those
who had undertaken to translate him were totally
unfit for the task. But the beams of this luminary
were quenched in the barbarism of the age ; and his
Hiperior erudition, instead of enlightening, dazzled
the weaker eyes of his contemporaries, who referred
his wonderful discoveries to magic and the infernal
arts. His illustrious namesake, Lord Verulam, ri-
valled his fame, but did not possess his candour in
regard to Aristotle, whom he studiously copies, and
continually abuses, for errors that belong to his in-
terpreters and commentators. It is not a little sifo-

8 MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE.

gular, that the Stagirite did precisely what he is
olamed by Lord Bacon, Hobbes, Malebranche, and
other French philosophers, for not doing. The au-
thor of the Leviathan frequently combats, under the
name of the Peripatetic philosophy, abstract essences,
substantial forms, and innumerable other doctrines,
metaphysical as well as moral and political, with
nearly the same arguments by which Aristotle, their
supposed author, had long before victoriously re-
futed them. The evil of confounding the simpli-
city of this philosophy with Platonism, was igno-
rantly perpetuated from age to age, through a suc-
cession of critics and commentators, not excepting
the latest of them all, Mr Harris and Lord Mon-
boddo, who perpetually ascribe to Aristotle the doc-
trine of general ideas, which he repeatedly and for-
mally denied. His logic was misrepresented by
Locke and Lord Kames ; and even Dr Reid speaks
of him harshly, as having purposely obscured his
analytical rules by unmeaning illustrations. But
wherever his principles and tenets have been studied
with a competent degree of honesty and informa-
tion, they have never failed to produce a conviction
of their soundness and perspicuity; and, at the same
time, an admiration for the wonderful discoveries
and attainments in a man deemed the wisest of an-
tiquity, and to whom, even in modern times, it will
be easier to name many superiors in particular
branches of knowledge, than to find any one rival in
universal science.

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 79

To give an analysis of the philosophical and scho-
*astic writings of Aristotle, belongs not to a work on
natural history. A general notion of their contents
may be communicated to the reader in a brief out-
yine. The system of knowledge which prevailed in
the schools when the Stagirite began to teach, and
in which he had himself been trained, was not such
as was likely to satisfy his penetrating mind. It
was, in fact, a vast undigested scheme of theoretical
wisdom, jumbled together without order, and fluc-
tuating in its form and character, according to the
talents and circumstances of its leading professors.
The Pythagoreans blended physical, mathematical,
and moral truth in mystic combination, as exhibited
in the mythology of Egypt. In the hands of So-
crates, philosophy assumed a more ethical com-
plexion ; but the fanciful imagination of Plato in-
vested it once more with a mixed character, by em-
bodying in one compressed view the various preceding
systems. Considering that definitions could not ap-
ply to every perceptible object, if (according to
the doctrine of Heraclitus) all such objects were
constantly changing; and that numbers (as taught by
Pythagoras) could not sufficiently account for that
immense variety of objects which the universe pre-
sented, he concluded that there must be some exist-
ences, independent of the perceptible universe, to
serve as the objects of definitions. Hence his famous
doctrine of Ideas, or archetypes, corresponding to the
different classes of external objects ; and to these

80 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

abstract images he assigned a real being, but capable
of intellectual apprehension alone. In this manner
he reared a motley system of physical philosophy,
on a basis of metaphysics and logic conjointly.

Although educated in this school, Aristotle had
thought too deeply and accurately not to perceive
that the cardinal doctrine of Platonism (ideas), how-
ever specious, was rather a shadowy representation,
than a solid structure. He saw that the various
branches of philosophy were separated from their
parent root, or grafted on unnatural stocks ; and
that, in order to rest the sciences on a sure founda-
tion, a more exact analysis of the principles of hu-
man knowledge was required. Accordingly, his
grand aim was to develope a truly intellectual sys-
tem, instead of the ingenious phantom which the en-
thusiasm of Plato had raised. The idols which had
been set up in the niches and shrines of the schools,
he swept away with a daring hand. In overthrow-
ing the doctrine of ideas, he was no less a reformer
of the ancient philosophy, than were Bacon and
Boerhaave of the modern. It was the object of the
one, as well as of the others, to cleanse and recon-
struct the temple of science ; to recall men from un-
profitable speculations to the realities of nature ; and
to lay down rules to guide them in the discovery of
sound and infallible principles.

Philosophy was regarded by Aristotli, either as
furnishing the mind with the means of contemplating
external nature, or ministering to the improvement

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. gl

and right direction of human life. The three grand
divisions into which he distributed it were, 1 st, Theo-
retic ; 2d, Efficient ; 3d, Practical ; including under
the first, Physics, Mathematics, and Theology or Me-
taphysics ; under the second, Rhetoric, Poetics, and
Logic or Dialectics, comprehending what are com-
monly termed the liberal arts ; under the third, Poli-
tics and Ethics, or the moral sciences.

Ths Ethics of Aristotle, as we already observed,
display a wonderful degree of moral knowledge,
and practical experience of mankind. Though
composed amidst the darkness of heathen supersti-
tion, they abound with pure and just sentiments ;
and instead of depressing man to the low standard
of manners and opinions then existing, they tend to
elevate him to that perfection which a higher autho-
rity has pronounced to be an indispensable element
iu the Christian character. They are directed, no
doubt, solely to the improvement of man in tliis pre-
sent life ; but so sound are the principles of conduct
laid down, that they may be readily extended to those
nobler views of our nature and destiny opened up
to us in the inspired volume. To us who live in
the sunshine of revelation, it may be difficult fully,
to appreciate the reach of thought it required in
those times to see the science of ethics in its proper
light, as a refinement of human character in order
to human happiness. Yet to this merit the Stagp-
rite is fairly entitled ; and no greater praise can be
given tc a writer of heathen morality than to say
F

82 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

(as may be truly said of his) that it contains nothing
wb'ch a Christian may dispense with, and no pre-
cept of life at variance with the Christian virtues.

In this department, Aristotle has left three prin-
cipal treatises, viz. 1st, The Nicomachean Ethics, in
ten books, addressed to his son ; 2d, The Magna
Moralia, in two books ; 3d, The Eudemian Ethics,
in seven books, addressed to Eudemus ; besides a
short popular tract on the Virtues and Vices. The
first of these exhibits the most formal and complete
development of his theory, and is the work on which
his fame as a moral philosopher chiefly rests. The
other treatises are illustrations of the same subjects,
entertaining similar views, and sometimes expressed
in the same language.

In these writings, his primary aim is to investi-
gate the law or philosophical principle, according to
which human actions attain the good or happiness
which is their object ; and which, as being the end
really designed in all actions, whatever may be their
immediate and particular object, is the great final cause
of all. The doctrine of virtue, happiness, pleasure,
friendship, justice, temperance, self-love, the affec-
tions, the passions, the motives and effects of actions,
are the important themes which he discusses. In
these inquiries, he takes a safer guide than the
fanciful speculations of the Greek schools concern-
ing the chief good, which imagined that there was
some quality of good, admitting of abstract disquisi-
tions into it* nature. Hence the superiority of his

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 83

Ethics as a practical system, coming home with
gentle yet resistless conviction to the hearts and un-
derstandings of men. His morality is neither too
rigid nor over-indulgent. In many respects, indeed,
it is imperfect, as every thing must be that rests on
no higher authority than the sanction of reason or na-
ture ; but it gives juster views, and lays down nobler
principles of duty, than any other system of antiquity.
From not having clear light as to the real immor-
tality of man, he was compelled to determine the
excellence of human virtue and happiness from a
view of his present condition only ; but, at the same
time, whilst he recommends the active discharge of
those duties and virtues which are within our reach,
and which belong to us as men, he directs us to pur-
sue that happiness which is beyond our attainment,
and which he himself describes as an immortalizing
of our nature — a living according to what is divine
in man, and what renders him most god-like, and
most dear to the Divinity. Considering his disad-
vantages, it must excite our wonder that a philos" -
pher living, as Aristotle did, amidst the darkn«»s
and disorder resulting from the want of a purer re-
ligion, should have given such sound practical oh-'
servations on human nature, and formed such accurate
conceptions of the perfection of human virtue.

The work on Politics, comprising eight books, was
a necessary sequel to that on Ethics, inasmuch as
the precepts of the one, to have a moral effect on
man, require to be enforced by the external sanction

84 MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE,

of the other ; for it was the current notion of ancient
philosophy, that the laws of the State, and the in-
stitution of rewards and punishments, were the great
instruments for bringing mankind to that course of
action in which their real interest consisted. On
this imperfect principle, Aristotle, in common with
other Greek philosophers, constructed his theory of
politics, which embraces three very important sub-
jects, viz. the origin of society and government, the
distinctions of rank in a commonwealth, and a com-
parison of the best plans of political economy. In
the prosecution of this task, besides examining and
criticising the systems of others, as Plato, Hippoda-
mus, Phaleas, Diocles ; and the polities of Sparta,
Lacedaemon, Athens, Crete, Carthage, &c. he dis-
cusses all the great leading questions both in civil
and economical science ; — the duties of citizens and
magistrates ; the different orders of priests ; the best
plans of education ; naval and military force ; causes
of sedition ; unions and combinations ; monopolies ;
commerce and manufactures ; slavery ; freedom ; na-
ture of property ; accumulation of stock ; and many
other topics, in which the extent of his knowledge is
not more remarkable than the soundness of his views.
Of the various kinds of government, the monarchical,
the aristocratical, the republican, and the democra-
tic, he considers the most " perfect polity" to be a
mixture of oligarchy and democracy, so blended, that
both appear, yet neither preponderate ; and in which
no one of the component elements of society has an

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 85

undue influence, but an equal regard is shewn to the
claims of freedom, wealth, and virtue. He admits,
however, that the public welfare may be promoted
under other forms — a monarchy or an aristocracy —
as well as under a " polity ;" but the latter he pre-
fers, as tending to maintain a due equality of rights
and relations among the members of the community.
One excellence of his system is, that it admits only
the general pursuit of the common weal, which, like
the private happiness sketched in his Ethics, is not
to be made a distinct object under any particular
form, but must be the universal aim of the whole
organization of the society, as individual happiness
is the result of the general regulation of all the mo-
ral principles. It is true that he supposes a society
to constitute itself in order to its own moral happi-
ness, and herein is the defect of his scheme ; but
this selfish principle must be considered as a neces-
sary substitute in his system for a divine providence,
the operation of which not being admitted or under-
stood, he was obliged to have recourse to the agency
of nature.

Aristotle appears the only political theorist among
the ancients who never lost sight of the moral nature
of man in his speculations. While most others, not7
excepting Plato himself, treated human society mere-
ly as a physical mass, capable of being moulded into
particular forms by the mechanism of external cir-
cumstances, he ascribes the formation of the best so-
cial constitution to the force of custom, philosophy,

86 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

and laws. His whole treatise well deserves to be
studied, both for its political maxims and its histori-
cal information. It lays open the elements of stabi-
lity and decay inherent in the different theories of
government ; and it points out the common principles
on which the maintenance of civil order, under any
form whatever, must essentially depend. " In this
incomparable work (says Dr Gillies), the reader will
perceive the genuine spirit of laws, deduced from the
specific and unalterable distinctions of governments ;
and, with a small effort of attention, may discern not
only those discoveries in science unjustly claimed by
the vanity of modern writers (Montesquieu, Machia-
vel, Locke, Hume, Smith, &c.) ; but many of those
improvements in practice, erroneously ascribed to the
fortunate events of time and chance in these later
and more enlightened times. The same invaluable
treatise discloses the pure and perennial spring of all
legitimate authority ; for in Aristotle's Politics, and
his only^ government is placed on such a natural and
solid foundation, as leaves neither its origin incom-
prehensible, nor its stability precarious ; and his con-
clusions, had they been well weighed, must have sur-
mounted or suppressed those erroneous and absurd
doctrines, which long upheld despotism on the one
hand, and those equally erroneous and still wilder
suppositions of conventions and compacts which have
more recently armed popular fury on the other."

The second grand division of Aristotle's philoso-
phy, called the Efficient, includes Dialectics or Logic,

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 87

Rhetoric and Poetics, with their accessory and colla-
teral sciences. Dialectic, or the art of reasoning,
taken in its widest sense, is the method of deducing
the probabilities on either side of a question, so framed
as to involve one of two contradictory propositions
in the answer, according as the affirmative or nega-
tive side is adopted. No part of scholastic science
stood more in need of amendment than this ; and
accordingly his treatise on the subject is the refor-
mation of the irregular and confused system in use
before his time. Not only does he explain the ge-
neral notion of the science, as the art of defending or
impugning an opinion ; he takes a wider and more
philosophical view, by investigating the grounds both
in the structure of language and the connexion of
thought, on which all arguments must rest.

This art presented a field for the display of singular
acuteness, and it was carried by Aristotle to a 'degree
of perfection beyond what any before him had con-
ceived. He pointed out the method by which the
defender of a thesis might be invincible, and taught
the opponent to shew no less insuperable skill in his
attacks ; so that every question could easily be per-
plexed with endless disputation, and all reasoning
made to revolve in a circle. To excel in the ma-'
nagement of the syllogism was the pride and glory
of the schools in the dark ages ; but the extravagant
height to which it was carried, was an impediment
to knowledge, and a burlesque on moral science.
This, however, was an abuse of the system, and

88 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

ought not to be charged as any impeachment of the
labours of the Stagirite. His four books of Analytics
divided into Prior and Posterior, testify how dis-
tinct and comprehensive a view he took of this dry
and apparently barren subject. The reader cannot
fail to mark the exactness of his rules for the con-
version of one proposition into another ; and to ad-
mit the special claim he has to the invention of To-
pics, or general heads of every species of question or
argument, together with the most pertinent and ad-
vantageous methods of treating them. By way of
generalizing this science, he has arranged all the ob-
jects of human thought that can be expressed by
" single words, under ten Categories or Predicaments ;
and in explaining the nature and properties of each,
he has opened up to the inquisitive mind a wide
field of syllogistic information. The preceding trea-
tises, including one book of Interpretation, one of
Sophisms, and eight of Topics, form collectively
what is now called Aristotle's Organum, or Logic ;
a work admirably calculated for sharpening the un-
derstanding and expanding the intellectual faculties ;
but a work which has been often as grossly misrepre-
sented, as it was long most wofully misapplied du-
ring those ages when scholastic jargon had usurped
the name and the seats of philosophy.

In his three books on Rhetoric, Aristotle has dis-
played the same extent and variety of learning as in
his Ethics. He treats it not merely as the science
of eloquence and composition, but as the art of per

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 89

suasion; and although he lays down excellent rules
for the structure of sentences, and the skilful use of
ornaments in style, he cautions the orator to consi-
der them as subordinate to the proper business of
his profession. He dissuades him from imitating
the practice, then too common, of appealing to the
passions of the hearers, rather than to their judg-
ment and understanding ; but he recommends him
to study every variety of human character, and to
^vail himself of the moral feelings, and even of the
natural prejudices, of his auditory. His division of
the art is threefold, according to the different occa-
sions on which it was employed among the Greeks :

1 . The deliberative ; or its use in political debates.

2. The judicial ; or its use in popular assemblies, as
those of Athens, in which the people collectively
exercised the judicial functions. 3. The demonstra-
tive; or its use in panegyric and invective, where
the orator had only to gratify his hearers by a dis-
play of eloquence. In these several heads of in-
quiry, he has given an admirable analysis of the mo-
tives by which mankind at large are commonly ac-
tuated in their conduct and opinions. All the wind-
ings and recesses of the human heart he has ex-
plored ; all its caprices and affections ; whatever tends'
to excite, to irritate, to amuse, or to gratify it, have
been carefully examined ; the reason of these pheno-
mena is demonstrated, and the method of creating
them is explained. Nothing, in short, has been left
untouched, on which Rhetoric, in all its branches.

90

has an

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

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MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 91

that appellation from the Stagirite himself, who has
not treated the three subdivisions of this branch as
separate sciences, but often blends their different
principles in the same discussion. The name is un-
known in his original works, and arose from the cir-
cumstance of certain treatises on what he denomi-
nates the First Philosophy or Theology, being placed
in the edition of Andronicus the Rhodian, after the
Physics.* This arrangement was adopted by other
commentators, and as the subjects were of an ab-
struse and speculative nature, the term was applied
by the schoolmen to what in modern writers is de-
signated by the Philosophy of Human Mind. In his
Physical disquisitions, the genius of Aristotle plunged
into an abyss, which it could not fathom ; and in at-
tempting definitions of the terms, act, power, pro-
perty, accidence, substance, energy, potentiality, &c.
he shewed the futility of endeavouring to explain
what is indefinable, merely by substituting words
instead of ideas. In considering Being in union
with matter, and investigating those universal prin-
ciples under which he conceived all existing things
to be arranged, he fell into the absurdity of con-
founding mental impressions with the facts which
nature presented to his observation. Instead of look-

* Andronicus is said to have prefixed to the twelve or
fourteen books, which had no title, the epithet roe, /t&ret, roe.
Qvffixa. (metaphysica), the things after the physics, to signify
that he found these books so placed in the original collec-
tion, or to intimate that he judged this to be their proper
position.

92 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

ing to the phenomena of the material universe, he
employed himself in deducing consequences from
metaphysical and mathematical data ; — arguing from
the mere abstract notions of the mind, to the reali-
ties of the external world. The first portion of his
physical philosophy, contained in the treatise en-
titled Natural Auscultations, is devoted to inquiries
into the principles of the science, in order to ascer-
tain those fundamental conceptions of its several ob-
jects, from which all conclusions concerning them
are deduced. These principles he reduces to three :
! . Matter ; 2. Form ; 3. Privation ; so well known
and so much perverted in the jargon of the schools.
The design of his inquiry being to obtain, by physical
analysis, an ultimate point to which all the various
notions involved in the speculation of nature might
be inferred, he proceeds to explain these natural ob-
jects to be such as have in themselves a principle of
motion and rest, as contrasted with works of art, the
principle of which is in the artist. From examining
this inherent principle, and shewing how it operates
in producing the ordinary appearances observed in
the world around us, he is led to account for the
processes of generation and corruption, and the
changes which occur in bodies by alteration, mix-
ture, locomotion, increase and decrease, &c.

The great doctrine of the ancient physics, " that
nothing could be produced out of nothing," according
to his theory, required no distinct consideration. In-
quiring into nature simply as a principle of motion,

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 93

or a self- working power, he was not called upon to
show how those changes which took place in the
material world might be satisfactorily accounted for.
It was no part of his philosophy to demonstrate that
any particular material, or combination of materials,
was employed in these processes of nature for ef-
fecting her productions and transmutations. All he
assumes is, that some material or other is used in
every instance of a physical object, to effect that con-
stitution of it in which its " form" consists. From
considering this question, he proceeds to examine
what principles reject and exclude one another in
the various changes of the material world ; these be-
ing the causes of the transition of one nature into
another : — the presence of one involving the priva-
tien of all those forms of matter dependent on the
other. What these mutually excluding principles
are, he decides by a reference to the sense of touch ;
that being the proper evidence to us of the existence
of body, as may be inferred from its resistance to
that faculty. According to this theory, the contra-
rieties ascertained by touch, and which account for all
the different forms of matter, are hot and cold, dry and
moist ; the first two as active principles, the last two
as passive. These four principles admit only of four
combinations ; it being impossible that the contraries
of heat and cold, or moist and dry, can co-exist.
The effect of each combination is a different element ;
thus, fire is a coalition of hot and dry ; air, of hot
aaid moist ; earth, of cold and dry ; water, of cold

94 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

and moist. Any of these elements may pass into
another by the privation of one of the combined
principles ; for instance, water into air by the priva-
tion of cold, and the consequent union of hot with
the moist that remains. When the change is simply
in the affections or attributes of some existing body,
the process is that of alteration ; but when the change
involves an entire transmutation of the original ma-
terial, the process is that of generation and corrup-
tion. Upon these complex principles did Aristotle
account for all the phenomena, sensible and tangible,
that take place in the material universe around us.

The heavenly luminaries, as constituting a branch
of physics, demanded his attention from their neces-
sary connexion with the full development of his
theory of motion, and in order to trace up that prin-
ciple through its successive impulses from this lower
world to the First Cause or Prime Mover. His
whole astronomy is dependent on those speculative
notions which he had adopted of lightness and heavi-
ness as intrinsic and absolute properties of bodies,
by which the exact position of each of the material
elements was regulated in the mundane system.
Fire he placed in the extreme point upwards ; earth
lowest ; and in the intermediate space, air and wa-
ter. On some points, his notions were tolerably cor-
rect. He admits the spherical form of the earth,
from the evidence of lunar eclipses, in which he had
remarked that it always exhibited a curved outline
and he inferred its magnitude to be not very great,

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 95

(about 37,000 miles) from the variation of horizon
consequent on a slight change of our position on its
surface.* But in most other respects, his views
partook of the current errors of antiquity. The earth,
he concluded, must be at rest, and therefore formed
the centre of the universe. That the whole hea-
vens were spherical, he supposed to be a necessary
consequence of the perfection belonging to them : —
a solid being the most perfect mathematical dimen-
sion, since angular bodies would necessarily imply
vacuities in space.

The revolutions of the celestial bodies he con-
ceived to be performed, not in consequence of a ten-
dency to the centre, but of the absence of any such
tendency ; — a principle directly opposite to that of
modern astronomy. That they do not revolve in
themselves, he considered to be evident from the
fact, that the moon always presents the same side to
the earth. Their motion, therefore, resulted from
being carried round by revolving spheres ; the first in
order being that in which the fixed stars are placed,
next the five planets, then the sun, and lastly the
moon nearest to the earth. This idea of the stars
revolving in solemn silence, was contrary to the

* It is curious how nearly Aristotle approached, but on a
different principle, to Columbus's notion of a western passage
to India. In his book De Coslo^ he observes, " those who
supposed the region about the columns of Hercules (Gibral-
tar) conjoined with that of India, and the sea to be thus one
mass, seem to conceive what is not very incredible ; alleging
as they did in evidence of their conclusions, that elephants
were found at both extremities,"

96 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

beautiful fancy of the Pythagoreans about the music
of the spheres ; for, according to Aristotle, they could
emit no sound as they moved with their spheres " like
the parts of a ship with the ship." To account for
the apparent irregularities in their motions, he ima-
gined that there were as many additional spheres
employed in the revolutions of each body, as it ap-
peared to have different motions.

The necessity of explaining what it was that im-
parted to the different spheres their principle of mo-
tion, led him to carry his speculations up to some
ultimate cause, itself unmoved, in which they had
their origin; hence the close connexion with the
physical and the metaphysical philosophy of Aris-
totle; and hence too the reason why he gave the lat-
ter science the designation of theology. According
to him, the several spheres of the heavens presented
a distinct class of beings (ovo-iai) or substances,
whose principle of motion he considered to be the
vital energy itself in which they had their existence ;
but it does not appear that he attributed to them a
proper divinity in themselves, although he speaks of
them as possessed of a divine nature, for he refers
their perpetuity of motion to the ultimate principle
or First Mover — the Deity of his system. This great
first principle he regarded merely in a metaphysical
point of view ; for it must be observed, that in his
philosophy there is no notion of a Divinity inculcated
a* the Creator and Governor of the universe ; it is
merely as the sou!— the intellect — the energy — the
excellence and perfection of the system that he con-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

templates the Divine Being ; it is, in short, pure be-
ing abstracted from all matter, and therefore only
negatively defined as without parts or magnitude,
impassable, invariable, and eternal. But whilst his
system included no Providence, it has the merit of
excluding the operation of chance and accident.
These, he observes, are not capable of being causes
of any thing ; they are merely descriptions of what
takes place contrary to some presupposed design, or
some tendency in nature.

His theory of the soul or living principle, is more
rational than that of most ancient philosophers. In
accordance with the system of his physics, he wisely
avoids endeavouring to refer it to any particular class
of material objects; — explaining its nature as an in-
stance of the union of the two principles, matter and
form, in a common result. His definition thus main-
tains the distinctness of body and soul as a combina-
tion of two substances ; without, however, defining
what the soul is in itself. From this view, it may be
perceived to what extent he acknowledged the im-
mortality of man. In so far as human nature is
purely intellectual, he conceived it capable of exist-
ing separately from matter, and in some sense di-
vine ; but in so far as it consisted of passions and af-
fections, he regarded it as mortal, and necessarily
perishable with the body. As to the nature of that
immortality which he thus attributes to the intellect,
he makes no explanation ; speaking of it as a rheto-
rician rather than with the precision of a philoso-

08 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

pher. His sentiments on this subject are fully stated
in his book on the Soul ; and in several smaller trea-
tises on the Parts and Motives of Animals, — on Per-
ception,— on the Duration of Life, — Youth and Old
Age, — Life and Death, — Respiration, — Memory, —
Sleep, — Waking and Dreaming ; and to these may
he added his book on Physiognomy, and his Trea-
tise on Animals, which, though properly a work of
Natural History, is also illustrative of the nature of
the soul, considered as the living principle in all ani-
mated beings.

In Mathematics, little comparatively has been left
of what Aristotle must have written. The only
treatises under this head, are the Mechanical Ques-
tions, and a book on Indivisible Lines. But as he
had been trained in the school of Plato, whose
threshold was impassable to those who had not drunk
deeply at the fountain of geometry, and attained a
perfect skill in the methods of mathematical investi-
gation then known, we may infer that his studies in
this department were as minute and extensive as
in others in which more of his writings have been
preserved. Of this, indeed, we require no better
proof, than may be gathered from passages in his
physics, in which We find him often establishing con-
clusions by steps of mathematical demonstration.
To this class may be referred his treatise called the
Problems, containing queries chiefly on subjects be-
longing to Natural Philosophy, with brief answers ;
and a curious tract against the doctrines of Xeno-

MEMOIR OP ARISTOTLE, 99

phanes, and Zeno the Eleatic, which shews the vast
research and sagacity of his observations. He has
separately discussed the nature of colours, and of
the objects of hearing. He has also explained the
causes of meteors, comets or bearded stars (wyu-
mat), earthquakes, exhalations, clouds, rain, snow,
the galaxy, the rainbow, and other phenomena of the
atmosphere, in a work on Meteorology, His books
on plants and minerals have perished ; but we learn
from himself that he had given an account of all the
different fossils and metals. He is also said to have
written on Comparative Anatomy, but that work no
longer remains.*

It is chiefly in his character as the historian and
•' interpreter of Nature that Aristotle ought to be con-
templated in a work like the present. His know-
ledge in this department was as varied and compre-
hensive as in political and speculative science ; his
object being to accumulate and digest all that was
then known of the structure and productions of the
earth ; and if we may judge of what is lost by what
has come down to us entire, it would be no easy
matter to determine whether most admiration wa§

* The treatise on Plants, edited with his works, is ac-
knowledged to be by Theophrastus, whose writings, from
the circumstances connected with their preservation, might
naturally be confounded with those of his master. The
treatise De Mundo, as also the collections of wonderful
Narratives, and perhaps the Fragment on the Winds, are
reckoned spurious, and have been rejected from the number
of his works, the internal evidence being against their u»r
puted authorship.

1 00 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

to his descriptions of the terraqueous globe,
with its seas, rivers, mountains, and volcanoes ; or to
his minute diligence in investigating the several ob-
jects of the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms.

Fortunate it is for Natural Science, that both his
History of Animals, and his philosophy respecting
that history, have reached us in a far more perfect
state than any other portion of his physiological
writings. On the subject of Zoology, his treatises
were comprised in fifty books, of which twenty-five
are happily preserved. It is quite immaterial to our
purpose, to inquire whether this immense body of
Natural knowledge is to be considered as containing
the result of his own observations only, or whether
it is a collection of all that had been observed by
others. The latter is most probably the case ; so
vast an undertaking being evidently too much for
any one man to accomplish . It may seem extraor-
dinary, that, in an early age, without the inventions
and improvements of modern philosophy, and on a
branch of science which is naturally progressive, so
vast a mass of information should have been col-
lected and arranged by a solitary individual, how-
ever long his life, and however great his leisure.
But Aristotle was the friend of a man as extraor-
dinary as himself, who generously supplied him with
the means of at once gratifying his taste for univer-
sal learning, and conferring an invaluable benefit on
posterity. The conquests of Alexander, and his

marches through so many distant and different coun-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

101

tries, presented singular opportunities for gathering
cnaterials on Zoological history ; and accordingly,
Pliny informs us that some thousands of persons
Were employed for this purpose, both in Greece and
the East, and at an expense of £200,000. The
same author labours to describe with what ardour
and zeal that illustrious hero, during the course of
his expedition, collected and sent to his preceptor
whatever rarities were to be found in parks, or ponds,
or aviaries, or hives, or were to be procured by hunt-
ing, fishing, and fowling, throughout the wide ex-
tent of Asia*. Such were the resources which the
Stagirite had at his command for writing the His-
tory of Animals, besides the assistance of a volumi-
nous library, in which, no doubt, was treasured up
the knowledge of preceding naturalists. By com-
bining with the descriptions in his books the obser-
vations of those living wonders transported from the

* The following is the original passage in Pliny in re-
ference to this subject i " Alexandro magno rege inflarn-
mato cupidine animalium naturas noscendi, delegataque
commentatione Aristoteli, summo in omni scientia viro, ali-
quot millia hominum in totius Asiae Grseciaeque tractu pa-
rere jussit, omnium quos venatus, aucupia, piscatusque ale-
bant, quibusque vivaria, armenta, alvearia, piscinae, avi-
aria, in cura erant ; ne quid usque in gentium ignoraretur
ab eo, quos percontando quinquaginta ferme voluminibus
ilia praeclara de animalibus condidit." — Nat. Hist. lib. viii.
c. 17. The sum of 800 talents, which, according to Athe-
naeus, was granted by Alexander to his preceptor for the
improvement of science, maybe estimated at one-fifth part
of the annual expense of the army by which that prince
conquered Asia.

102 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

East, the recluse philosopher of Athens, while hit
pupil was conquering the world, composed, in the
tranquil shades of the Lycaeum, that immortal work
which Pliny professed to abridge, and which Buffon
despaired to rival.

The History of Animals occupies nine hookvs :
the remaining sixteen are employed in explaining
their general affections or properties, and their prin-
cipal parts or members ; viz. four treat of their se-
veral parts, five of generation, and the rest of their
sensations and motions, in the knowledge of which
particulars he considered the philosophy of zoology
chiefly to consist. As he extends that term to
whatever has animal life, the first four books of his
history, beginning with the outward conformation of
animals, divides and distinguishes, (in comparison
with the human form as that which is most fami-
liarly known), the inhabitants of the earth, the water,
and the air, from the enormous whale, and massy
elephant, to the scarcely perceptible productions of
dust and rottenness; — enumerating, with surprising
accuracy, the agreements, and differences, and ana-
logies, that prevail in point of external organization
among all the living tribes of nature. In the three
subsequent books, he examines the different classes
of animals, with respect to the commencement, du-
ration, and term of their generative powers. His
eighth book examines their habitation and nourish-
ment ; and the conclusion of the history details their
manners and habits* enumerates their friends and

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE, 103

enemies, and explains the ordinary means by which
each class provides for its preservation and defence.
In taking this wide survey of animated nature,
Aristotle pretends not to exhaust its infinitely va-
ried branches, for these defy the grasp of science ;
but in the multitude of important and well as-
certained facts which he relates, and which is in-
comparably greater than will be found in any work
of equal compass, it is his main purpose to illustrate
the general heads above mentioned, and to expound
the properties or affections common to the greatest
or most distinguished portion of the whole animal
kingdom. To these general heads or common pro-
perties, he constantly has respect in the historical
part of the work ; so that his minutest observations
respecting the humblest and least perfectly organized
animal are often found to elucidate or confirm some
important law of the animal economy *. His sys-
tem, inasmuch as the range of his observation was
limited, was necessarily defective. The world created
by the microscope had not any existence for the phi-
losophers of antiquity. By means of this and other
inventions, the chain of being has been extended far
beyond what the unassisted eye could possibly have
reached. Our wider acquaintance with the different
regions of the globe, has increased our knowledge
of the animal kingdom ; and our superiority in ex-
perimental science has thrown new light on the struc-
ture and functions of the animal economy. The ap-

* Gillies's New Analysis of Aristotle's Works, voL i.
p. 146.

10<i MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

plication of glasses has multiplied and magnified to
our sight the almost endless succession and ever-
diminishing tribes of insects, and enabled us to exa-
mine more accurately their germs and organs. Yet
nevertheless, with all these advantages, it is sur-
prising how nearly the facts collected by Aristotle
correspond with the advanced state of knowledge at
the present time ; and in certain departments, Birds
and Fishes, for example, it will not be easy to prove
that modern writers have added much of import-
ance to his observations. An eminent naturalist of
the last century (Cavolini), in speaking concerning
the development of the impregnated eggs of shell-
fish, and the little attention which the subject had
received, pays the following well-merited compliment
to the minute information of the Stagirite : " When
I consider this defect, and turn to Aristotle's His-
tory of Animals, I am seized with astonishment on
finding that he should have fully and distinctly seen
the facts which we have been able only very imper-
fectly to perceive ; that he should have described
them with the utmost precision, and compared them
with the well-known observations concerning the
eggs of birds. My astonishment is the greater,
when I reflect that he was unassisted by micro-
scopes, which instruments have in our days been
brought to great perfection."

In chemistry, botany, and mineralogy, we scarce-
ly find any thing approaching to a system among
the ancients ; but in the animal kingdom, the true

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 105

principles of classification seem to have been almost
as clearly understood in the age of Aristotle as it is in
that of Buffon and Cuvier. It was not reasonable,
indeed, to expect that, antecedently to the know-
ledge of the circulation of the blood, of respiration,
*nd also of the physiology of the absorbent and ner-
vous system, a natural classification could have been
accomplished on principles so satisfactory as has
been done by modern philosophy; yet on comparing
the zoology of the Slagirite with that of our times,
we discover that, even in the infancy of science,
there is frequently sufficient light, in the uniformity
of Nature's laws, to guide the mind in deducing ge-
neral conclusions from a systematic examination of
facts. The progress of knowledge has shewn the
existence of such a general coincidence and harmony
of relation between the several component parts of an
individual animal, that even a partial acquaintance with
the details of its structure will enable the inquirer to
ascertain its true place in the scale of organization ;
and hence, although Aristotle knew nothing of the
circulation of the blood, or of the general physiology
of the nervous system, and even comparatively little
of the osteology of animals, yet subsequent disco-
veries have scarcely disturbed the order of his ar-
rangement. He placed the whale, for instance, in
the same natural division with common quadrupeds,
because he saw that, like them, it is viviparous,
and suckles its young, and respires by lungs and
not by gills ; and to this class it still belongs — the

106 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

circulation of the blood, as well as the arrangement
of its nervous system, being essentially the same as
in viviparous quadrupeds.

With reference to animal life generally, he notices
the gradual advances made by Nature from the state
of inanimate matter to that of living beings, whence
arose the difficult^ he felt in ascertaining the common
boundary of the two divisions. In the scale of ma-
terial existence, he observes that plants immediately
succeed to lifeless forms of matter ; holding, as it
were, a middle rank between animals and all other
organic bodies. His notion that inanimate sub-
stances graduate into life, as reptiles are alleged to
have sprung from the mud of the Nile, is erroneous;
but the difficulty which he felt in defining the ex-
act limit between animal and vegetable organization,
still exists, and is admitted by physiologists, after
the lapse of more than 2000 years. The only for-
mal terms of classification employed by Aristotle
are species (ido<;\ and genus (yzvo$) ; of the first of
which he gives a remarkably precise definition — as
an assemblage of individuals, in which not only the
whole form of any one resembles the whole form of
any other, but each part in any one resembles the
corresponding part in any other. His application of
the term genus is more vague, and sometimes ex-
tends to what we now denominate by tribe, family,
order, or even class. He was quite aware of the
necessary connexion between the blood and the life
of an animal : and he uses the colour of that fluid

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 107

for the purpose of distinctive description — calling
those animals which have red blood iww/m«, and those
which have it not red ctvotwce, ; and thus he esta-
blishes a fundamental natural division, answering to
the red-blooded and white-blooded animals of mo-
dern zoology. Another distribution of the several
classes is into those which have blood, and those
which have not; — among the former are man, vivi-
parous and oviparous quadrupeds, birds, fishes, ceta-
ceous animals, and serpents ; while the latter coin-
prise those naturally divisible into segments, as in-
sects, those of a soft substance throughout, as cuttle-
fish, &c. those having a comparatively soft shell, as
lobsters, &c. and those which have a hard shell, as
oysters, &c.

In examining the component members of animals
in general, it has been already observed, that Aris-
totle selected man as a standard of comparison, al-
leging as a reason, that we are more familiar with
the human form than with any other : hence it fol-
lows, as a necessary consequence, that viviparous
animals, birds, reptiles, and fishes, would respec-
tively come next in succession ; and this order he
actually observes in making his classification. Some
have found fault with this arrangement, on the
ground of .its commencing with animals of a more
complicated instead of those of a more simple struc-
ture, but there seems no good cause for the objec-
tion ; and it is no mean encomium on the Stagirite
to observe, that the same principle of arrangement

108 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

has been adopted by almost if not all modern natu-
ralists, if we except Lamarck. Cuvier, Aristotle's
great rival in this department, has not only followed
it, but seems literally to have copied his descriptions
in some natural groups and individual species of ani-
mals, particularly the class of Mammalia. Professor
Kidd of Oxford, in his Bridgewater Treatise on the
" Physical Condition of Man," to which we are in-
debted for some of the preceding remarks, has exhi-
hired in parallel columns a comparison between the
Grecian and the French philosopher in their phy-
siological account of certain species ; arid he con-
cludes that, with respect to those points in the his-
tory of animals equally accessible to both writers,
the descriptions of the former are hardly inferior in
accuracy to those of the latter. The examples ad-
duced are those of man, ruminating animals, ceta-
ceous animals, the elephant, the lion, the ape, the
mole, the hedgehog, and the porcupine. " Nor does
this observation" (continues the learned Professor)
" hold with reference to the more common animals
only: it is equally remarkable with reference to those
which are of comparative rarity; in support of which
assertion, I would refer, among other instances, to
the description of the Sepia, and of the Chameleon,
and of the evolution of the egg of the bird during
incubation."

It is remarkable, that, from the age of Aristotle
to nearly that of Linnaeus, no systematic classifica-
tion of animals was attempted — none at least was ge-

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 109

nerally adopted. Soon after the commencement of
the last century, the Swedish naturalist directed his
attention to the subject, and distributed the who'ie
animal kingdom into six classes — Mammalia, Birds,
Reptiles, Fishes, Insects, and Worms ; in which dis-
tribution, Lamarck observes, that he improved on
Aristotle, first by using the more distinctive term
Mammalia, and placing the Cetacea in that class ;
and next by making a distinct class of Reptiles, and
arranging them betwixt Birds and Fishes. If this
alteration, which has been subsequently adopted by
all other zoologists, be made, Aristotle's arrange-
ment of vertebratcd animals agrees with that of the
present day ; and in distributing all other animals
into four classes, which Linnaeus distributes into
two only, the Stagirite must be considered as having
proceeded on the more philosophical principle, be-
cause the species of those animals, taken collective-
ly, are much more numerous and much more diver-
sified in their form and structure than the species of
vertebrated animals *.

In Entomology, the claims of Aristotle as a great
and original genius have been admitted by some of
the most competent judges of modern times. Of
the class Insect a, it has been affirmed, that Linnaeus
himself had not those precise ideas of its limits
which the philosopher of Athens had adopted so
many centuries before. The following Tabular View

* Kidd's Treatise on the Adaptation of External Na-
ture to the Physical Condition of Man, p. 319.

110 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

of what may be called his system, has been drawn
up from his works, especially the History of Ani-
mals :

Coleoptera.

Pedetica = Orthoptera sanatoria,! tr.
Astomata= Hemiptera, Latr.
Psycha& = Lepidoptera.

•majora= Neuroptera,

Tetrautera 1 Orthoptera cursoria, Lat.
letraptera- Oisthocentra==/-

Pterota vel
Ptilota

optera.
f minor a = Musca, Tipu~

Diptera -j Emprosthocentra=Cw/^
* Stomoxys,TabanuS)&ic.
Pterota simul / Myrmex = Formica, L.

et Aptera ( Pygolampis —Lampyris, L.
Aptera

" It may be further stated, that Aristotle perceived
also the distinction between the Mandibulata and
Haustellata of modern authors: for he observes,
that some insects having teeth are omnivorous; while
others, that have only a tongue, are supported by li»
quid food. He appears to have regarded the Hy-
menoptera, or some of them, as forming a third sub-
class ; since he clearly alludes to them, when he says
that many have teeth, not for feeding, but to help
them in fulfilling their instincts.

" From the above statement it will appear, that
this great philosopher had no contemptible notion —
though he has only distinguished three of them as
jarger groups, by appropriate names — of the majo-
rity of the order of insects at present admitted. His
Coleoptera^ Psycha, and Diptera, are evidently

MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. /Ill

such. His idea of Hemiptera seems taken solely
from the Cicada or Tettix; but the manner in which
he expresses himself concerning it, as having no
mouth, but furnished instead with a linguiform or-
gan resembling the proboscis of Diptera, proves
that he regarded it as the type of a distinct group.
Since he considers the saltatorious Orlhoptera as
forming such a group, it is probable that he included
the cursorious ones with the Neuroptera in his ma-
jora section of Tetraptera ; and the resemblance of
many of the Mantidts to the Neuroptera is so great,
that this mistake would not be wonderful. His di-
vision of the Diptera is quite artificial.

" How far Aristotle's ideas with regard to genera
and species attained to any degree of precision, is
not easily ascertained : in other respects, his know-
ledge of insects was more evident. As to their ana-
tomy, he observes that their body is usually divided
into three primary segments — head, trunk, and ab-
domen; that they have an intestinal canal — in some
straight and simple, in others contorted — extending
from the mouth to the anus ; that the Orthoptera
have a ventricle or gizzard. He had noticed the
drums of Cicada, and that the males only are vocal.
Other instances of the accurate observation of this
great man might be adduced, but enough has been
said to justify the above encomiums. His principal
error was that of equivocal generation *."

* Introduction to Entomology by Kirby and Spence,
vol. iv. p. 433-434

112 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE.

In taking a retrospective view of the life and
writings of this extraordinary man, the reader can-
not but be struck with the amazing extent and va-
riety of his attainments. It is a brief but bold and
not inappropriate character of him given by an ano-
nymous writer in Suidas, that he was " Nature's se-
cretary, and had dipt his pen in intellect." Had
he lived in the eighteenth century, the scientific
world might have been indebted to him for the per-
fection of those systems which we owe to the la-
bours of Linnaeus, Cuvier, and Buffon. Had he
known the discoveries of Galileo and Kepler, he
might perhaps have been a Newton. But it was by
the eye of reason and analogy only that he had to
study the heavens and the earth, of whose beauty
and grandeur he speaks with as much rapture as the
most enlightened philosopher could feel. By the
light of Nature alone, we see him sometimes pene-
trating deeply into Nature's mysteries — analyzing,
defining, and demonstrating — sometimes encounter-
ing difficulties which the human mind itself is un-
able to surmount — often foiled in his exertions, yet
always renewing the combat with renovated hope.
fin the lapse of centuries, while his theories have
been alternately attacked and defended, exploded
and revived, the facts which he collected with un-
exampled diligence, and which he has so systema-
tically digested io his works, will for ever support
Ins fame as the " Prince of Philosophers," and in-
struct the most distant ages of posterity,

ORNITHOLOGY.

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

GALLINACEOUS BIRDS.

THIS order contains a part of the feathered creation,
which is by far the most useful in the domestic
economy of man. The Jungle-cock, better known
in its reclaimed state as the Barn-door Fowl, the
Turkey, Peacock, and Guinea-fowl, the extensive
race of Pigeons, and the various birds known as
Game, all fall under it, and administer to his taste
and wants ; and whether as wholesome and grate-
ful articles of food, adornments to his abode, his
dress, or draperies, or a solace to his body when
weary, they are universally esteemed, and by almost
all nations are reared and domesticated for their
various uses. We propose, therefore, to devote more
space to the history of these birds than might perhaps
be the real proportion in the extent we had marked
out in this work, and the present volume will be
confined to a single family of this important group.

114 NATURAL HISTORY OF

The Gallinaceous Birds, named in the scientific
language of modern ornithology Rasores, are placed
third in Class Aves or Birds, and in addition to the
Gallinse, to which hy former authors they were li-
mited, they are now made to contain the Pigeons,
and the Struthious birds, such as the Ostrich, Bus-
tards, &c. The class has also been termed the first
of the aberrant series, from the members of it pos-
sessing in a less degree the powers of flight and of
perching and grasping — the great attributes of birds.
These are developed to their greatest extent in the
birds of prey and the incessorial order ; and although
in the present division we find some species with a
strong flight, and feet fitted for grasping, yet, when
they are examined as a whole, these are not seen as
marked properties of the order, while others are
most conspicuous.

The Rasorial birds are formed principally for abode
upon the ground, and for this purpose the legs and
feet are strong, the toes placed upon a plane, and
connected at the base by a strong binding membrane.
The hallux or hind toe, the great accessory in perch-
ing and grasping, is often wanting, and is always
short, and the nails are short, or, when lengthened,
always stretch in a line with the toe ; consequently
the powers of walking and running are great, and in
some instances conduce alone to the preservation of
their possessor. The greater part of their food is
Vken upon the ground, and consiots of insects, grain,
./ots, seeds, and tender vegetables. Their nests are

GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 115

generally made upon the ground, and the young run
immediately when hatched. On the contraiy, the
organs fitted for flight are less powerfully developed,
the wings are short and rounded, the body remarka-
bly heavy, and of course requiring great strength to
raise it, and the tail and its accessories are often so
unwieldy, as to prove a complete incumbrance in
any flight extending beyond a few yards. The in-
ternal structure is complicated, and appears to bear
a strong analogy with the Ruminantia.

By modern ornithologists this order has been di-
vided into five great families — Pavonidce, Cracida,
Columbidce, Tetraonidce, and Struthionidce. The
characters which we have given above are of course
taken from the typical families of the order. The
pigeons, with which we leave the incessorial birds, in
many of their groups, possess extensive powers of
flight and grasping, perform migrations on the wing,
and live much upon trees. Their food, however, is
almost entirely taken upon the ground, and we are
beautifully led to the principal family of the true gal-
linaceous birds, by means of the Great Crowned, Ni-
cobar, and Carunculated Pigeons. The Tetraonidse
or Grouse also in many of their members exhibit
pointed and lengthened wings, and a flight of great
strength. They however chiefly live upon the ground,
feed and breed upon it. The Cracidse, again, where
the form and habits approach much nearer the type,
where the toes are nearly upon a plane, and that
behind is very short, breed on trees, while the

116 NATURAL HISTORY, &C.

Struthious family shew the very extreme form in the
wings and feet, running with prodigious swiftness,
and using their short wings only as an assisting power
in carrying them forward. None of them perch, and
they all feed and breed upon the ground.

We devote the present little volume to the illus-
tration of the first or typical group, the Pavonidce,
and shall describe in detail the various members of
it, before noticing its peculiar characters, and the ar-
rangement of the genera.* The first we have to
notice is

* The arrangement in the descriptive part of the volume
is not quite regular ; most of the plates were long ago num-
bered and printed, and it was found impossible to change
them. This will be corrected, however, in the synopsis,
and in the short summary which we propose to give in the
conclusion.

THE TURKEY. 119

of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, and the
vast expanse of territory on the Missisippi and Mis-
souri, as far as the forests extend, are most abun-
dantly supplied with this valuable game, which forms
an important part of the subsistence of the hunter
and traveller in the wilderness. It is not probable
that its range extends to or beyond the Rocky
Mountains. The Mandan Indians, who a few years
ago visited the city of Washington, considered the
Turkey as one of the greatest curiosities they had
seen, and prepared a skin of one to carry home for
exhibition *.

There can be little doubt that we are indebted to
the Spaniards for the introduction of the Turkey to
Europe, and that it would be brought from Mexico
upon the discovery of the New World. From Spain
a bird of such value, and so easily domesticated,
would easily find its way to Britain ; and although
we cannot trace its introduction, we may confidently
assert that it was not before 1525, and most pro-
bably between that and the year 1530. They do
not appear in the bill of fare in the celebrated feast
of Archbishop Neville ; and the first published no-
tice of the bird is in a " History of the Indies," by
Oviedo, written in 1525. It appears from that tra-
veller, that it was then an inhabitant of the greater
islands, as well as of the mainland, and he speaks of
them as peacocks ; for, being a new bird to him, he

* Bonaparte Continuation of Wilson.

120 THE TURKEY.

adopts that name, from the resemblance he thought
they bore to the former ; but he adds, " The neck
is bare of feathers, but is covered with a skin which
they change after their phantasie into diverse co-
lours. They have a horn, as it were, on their front,
and hairs on the breast." Their increase after their
introduction must have been extremely rapid, or their
worth must not have been duly appreciated ; for in
1555 we find them rated at only four shillings each ;
and in 1573, they are recorded as the usual Christ-
mas fare of a farmer's table, and ill " neighbours to
peason and to hops." In France, they seem to have
been first noticed a few years later, for the first
Turkey that appeared at table was said to have been
served up at the wedding banquet of Charles IX. in
1570 ; but four years previous to this, twelve Tur-
keys were thought worthy of being presented to
that king. These are parts of the history of this
bird which are perhaps only curious to the anti-
quary or historian, and of little practical use. The
Turkey has now been domesticated in almost every
civilized part of the known world ; and it is pro-
bable that it will be sooner extirpated from the
greater part of its native wilds than from the poul-
try-yards of the opulent and luxurious. Bonaparte
observes, that it is now extremely rare, if, indeed, it
exists at all, in the northern and eastern parts of the
United States. In New England, it even appears
to have been already destroyed one hundred and fif-
ty years back. Again, he adds, " In Canada, and

THE TURKEY. 121

the more densely peopled parts of the United States,
Wild Turkeys were formerly very abundant ; but,
like the Indian and the buffalo, they have been com-
pellsd to yield to the destructive ingenuity of the
white settlers, often wantonly exercised, and take
refuge in the remotest parts of the interior. Al-
though they relinquish their native soil with slow
and reluctant steps, yet such is the rapidity with
which the settlements are extended and condensed
over the surface of this country, that we may antici-
pate a day, at no distant period, when the hunter
will seek the Wild Turkey in vain." The imperfect
records of its introduction to Europe may then be
interesting to future generations.

A person who has seen the Turkey only in the
poultry-yards of this country, can have no idea of
the splendour of a fine cock in his full plumage, pre-
vious to the breeding-season. His plumage gleams
with the brightest golden-bronze, tinged, according
to the position, with blue, violet, and green, and
beautifully broken by the deep black bands which
terminate each feather, and which also have a me-
tallic lustre. The length of the male figured by Mr
Audubon * was four feet and an inch ; the expanse
of the wings five feet eight inches. This is beyond

* The habits of the Turkey in a wild state have been so
well and minutely described by the Prince of Musignano
and Mr Audubon, that we could not with propriety intro-
duce a substitute, and we have therefore adopted the more
interesting parts of their descriptions.

122 THE TURKEY.

the average size, and the hird wa8 a remarkably fine
specimen. The extraordinary accounts of the great
weight aiid size of the Wild Turkey have been only
the licensed tales of travellers, heightened by the
idea, that a New World must produce every thing on
a scale proportioned to its extent *. Mr Audubon
says, that from 15 Ib. to 18 Ib. may be a fair esti-
mate of their average weight ; and he only once saw
one in the Louisville market which weighed 36 Ib. :
the tuft of hair on the breast of this bird measured
upwards of a foot. Bonaparte confirms this ac-
count, but says that birds of 30 Ib. are not rare, and
had ascertained the existence of some which weigh-
ed 40 Ib. The male Turkey may be said to be
adult at the third year though it increases in both
beauty and weight for some seasons afterwards.
Upon the approach of the first winter, the bunch
of hair upon the breast begins to appear: at the
commencement of the second, it is from three to
four inches in length, and the caruncules about the
head and neck have become large, and have as-
sumed their deep and livid hue ; by the third win-
ter, all these marks of maturity have nearly reached
their greatest, development.

The Female which we have represented on our
Plate II., has been copied from Mr Audubon*

• Temminck gives the weight from 20 Ib. to 80 Ib. Pi$
et Gall. ii. 379. Clayton, in his Account of Virginia, 50 ib,
even 60 Ib.

THE TURKEY. 123

beautiful Illustrations ; and we have to ask his for-
giveness for having done so without previously ob-
taining his permission. The average weight of a
hen is about 9 Ib. ; but in strawberry time they
sometimes reach 13 Ib. and are so fat as to burst
open when falling, after being shot. In length, the
female is only about 3 feet 4 inches. The head
and neck are not so naked, and there is no trace
of spurs upon the legs. The general shade of the
plumage is of a grayer tint, each feather having a
metallic band, less brilliant than that of the male,
and is then tipped with a blackish bar, and a grayish
terminal fringe.

We shall now introduce the account of their
manners fron the Prince of Musignano's continua-
tion.

" The males, usually termed gobblers, associate in
parties, numbering from ten to a hundred, and seek
their food apart from the females ; whilst the latter
either move about singly with their young, then
nearly two-thirds grown, or, in company with other
females and their families, form troops, sometimes
consisting of seventy or eighty individuals, all of
which are intent on avoiding the old males, who,
whenever opportunity offers, attack and destroy the
young, by repeated blows on the skull. All parties,
however, travel in the same direction, and on foo^
unless they are compelled to seek their individua^
safety by flying from the hunter's dog, or their marck
is impeded by a large river. When about to cros»

124 THE TUfcKEY.

a river, they select the highest eminences, that their
flight may be the more certain ; and here they some-
times remain for a day or more, as if for the purpose
of consultation, or to be duly prepared for so ha-
zardous a voyage. During this time the males gob-
ble obstreperously, and strut with extraordinary im-
portance, as if they would animate their companions,
and inspire them with the utmost degree of hardi-
hood ; the females and young also assume much of
the pompous air of the males, the former spreading
their tails, and moving silently around. At length
the assembled multitude mount to the tops of the
highest trees, whence, at a signal note from a leader,
the whole together wing their way towards the opt
posite shore. All the old and fat ones cross without
difficulty, even when the river exceeds a mile in
width ; but the young, meagre, and weak, frequent-
ly fall short of the desired landing, and are forced to
swim for their lives ; this they do dexterously
enough, spreading their tails for a support, closing
their wings to the body, stretching the neck for-
wards, and striking out quickly and forcibly with
their legs. If, in thus endeavouring to regain tho
land, they approach an elevated or inaccessible bank,
their exertions are remitted, they resign themselves
to the stream for a short time, in order to gain
, strength, and then, with one violent effort, escape
from the water. But in this attempt all are not
successful ; some of the weaker, as they cannot rise
sufficiently high in the air to clear the bank, fall

THE TURKEY. 125

again and again into the water, and thus miserably
perish. Immediately after these birds have succeed-
ed in crossing a river, they for some time ramble
about without any apparent unanimity of purpose,
and a great many are destroyed by the hunters, al-
though they are then least valuable.

" The wild turkeys do not confine themselves to
any particular food ; they eat maize, all sorts of ber-
ries, fruits, grasses, beetles ; and even tadpoles,
young frogs, and lizards, are occasionally found in
their crops ; but where the pecan riut is plenty, they
prefer that fruit to any other nourishment; their
more general predilection is, however, for the acorn,
on which they rapidly fatten. When an unusually
profuse crop of acorns is produced in a particular
section of country, great numbers of turkeys are en-
ticed from their ordinary haunts in the surrounding
districts. About the beginning of October, while
the mast still remains on the trees, they assemble in,
flocks, and direct their course to the rich bottom
lands. At this season they are observed in great
numbers on the Ohio and Missisippi. The time of
this irruption is known to the Indians by the name
of the turkey month.

" When the turkeys have arrived in their land of
abundance, they disperse in small flocks, composed
of individuals of all sexes and ages intermingled, who
devour all the mast as they advance ; this occurs
about the middle of November. It has been ob-
served, that, after these long journeys, tb* Uirkeya

126 THE TURKEY.

become so familiar as to venture on the plantations,
and even approach so near the farm-houses as to en-
ter the stables and corn-cribs in search of food ; in
this way they pass the autumn, and part of the win-
ter. During this season, great numbers are killed
by the inhabitants, who preserve them in a frozen
state, in order to transport them to a distant mar-
ket.

" Early in March they begin to pair ; and, for a
short time previous, the females separate from, and
shun their mates, though the latter pertinaciously
follow them, uttering their gobbling note. The sexes
roost apart, but at no great distance, so that, when
the female utters a call, every male within hearing
responds, rolling note after note, in the most rapid
succession ; not as when spreading the tail and strut-
ting near the hen, but in a voice resembling that of
the tame turkey, when he hears any unusual or fre-
quently repeated noise. Where the turkeys are nu-
merous, the woods, from one end to the other, some-
times for hundreds of miles, resound with this re-
markable voice of their wooing, uttered responsively
from their roosting places. This is continued for
about an hour ; and, on the rising of the sun, they
silently descend from their perches, and the males
begin to strut, for the purpose of winning the admi-
ration of their mates.

" If the call be given from the ground, the males
in the vicinity fly towards the individual, and, whe-
ther they perceive her or notv erect arid spread their

THE TURKEY. 127

tails, throw the head backwards, distend the comb
and wattles, strut pompously, and rustle their wings
and body-feathers, at the same moment ejecting a
puff of air from the lungs. Whilst thus occupied,
they occasionally halt to look out for the female, and
then resume their strutting and puffing, moving with
as much rapidity as the nature of their gait will ad-
mit. During this ceremonious approach, the males
often encounter each other, and desperate battles
ensue, when the conflict is only terminated by the
flight or death of the vanquished."

The conqueror now selects the objects of his gal-
lantry, and one or more females thus associated fol-
low their favourite, and roost in his immediate neigh-
bourhood, if not upon the same tree, until they be-
gin to lay, when they change their mode of life, in
order to save their eggs, which the male uniformly
breaks, if in his power. After the love season, the
sexes again separate, the males cease entirely to,
gobble, and " retire and conceal themselves by pro-
strate trees, in secluded parts of the forest, or in the
almost impenetrable privacy of a cane-brake. Ra-
ther than leave their hiding-places, they suffer them-
selves to be approached within a short distance,
when they seek safety in their speed of foot ; at this
season, however, they are of no value to the hunter,
being meagre and covered with ticks. By thus re-
tiring, using very little exercise, and feeding on pe-
culiar grasses, they recover their flesh and strength,

128 THE TURKEY.

when they again congregate, and recommence their
rambles.

" About the middle of April, when the weather is
dry, the female selects a proper place in which to
deposit her eggs, secured from the encroachment of
water, and, as far as possible, concealed from the
watchful eye of the crow : this crafty bird espies the
hen going to her nest, and having discovered the
precious deposit, waits for the absence of the parent,
and removes every one of the eggs from the spot,
that he may devour them at leisure. The nest is
placed on the ground, either on a dry ridge, in the
fallen top of a dead leafy tree, under a thicket of
sumach or briars, or by the side of a log ; it is of a
very simple structure, being composed of a few dried
leaves. In this receptacle the eggs are deposited,
sometimes to the number of twenty, but more usual-
ly from nine to fifteen ; they are whitish, spotted
with reddish brown, like those of the domestic bird.
Their manner of building, number of eggs, period of
incubation, &c. appear to correspond throughout the
Union, as I have received exactly similar accounts
from the northern limits of the turkey range, to the
most southern regions of Florida, Louisiana, and the
western wilds of Missouri.

"The female always approaches her nest with
great caution, varying her course so as rarely to
reach it twice by the same route ; and, on leaving
her charge, she is very careful to cover the whole
with dry leaves, with which she conceals it so art-

THE TURKEY. 129

fully, as to make it extremely difficult, even for one
who has watched her movements, to indicate the
exact spot ; hence few nests are found, and these
are generally discovered by fortuitously starting the
female from them, or by the appearance of broken
shells, scattered around by some cunning lynx, fox,
or crow. When laying or sitting, the turkey hen is
not readily driven from her post by the approach of
apparent danger; but, if an enemy appears, she
crouches as low as possible, and suffers it to pass.
A circumstance related by Mr Audubon will shew
how much intelligence they display on such occa-
sions ; having discovered a sitting hen, he remarked
that, by assuming a careless air, whistling, or talking
to himself, he was permitted to pass within five or
six feet of her ; but, if he advanced cautiously, she
would not suffer him to come within twenty paces,
.but ran off twenty or thirty yards with her tail ex-
panded, when, assuming a stately gait, she paused on
every step, occasionally uttering a chuck. They
seldom abandon their nests on account of being dis-
covered by man ; but should a snake, or any other
animal, suck one of the eggs, the parent leaves them
altogether. If the eggs be removed, she again seeks
the male, and recommences laying, though otherwise
she lays but one nest of eggs during the season.
Several turkey hens sometimes associate, perhaps for
mutual safety, deposit their eggs in the same nest,
and rear their broods together. Mr Audubon once
found three females sitting on forty-two eggs. ID

130 THE

such cases, the nest is constantly guarded by one of
the parties, so that no crow, raven, nor even pole-
cat, dares approach it.

" The mother will not forsake her eggs, when near
hatching, while life remains ; she will suffer an en-
closure to be made around and imprison her, rather
than abandon her charge. Mr Audubon witnessed
the hatching of a brood, while thus endeavouring to
secure the young and mother. 4 1 have lain flat/
says he, ' within a very few feet, and seen her gent-
ly rise from the eggs, look anxiously towards thejn,
chuck with a sound peculiar to the mother on such
an occasion, remove carefully each half empty shell,
and with her bill caress and dry the younglings, that
already stand tottering and attempting to force their
way out of the nest.'

" When the process of incubation is ended, and
the mother is about to retire from the nest with her
young brood, she shakes herself violently, picks and
adjusts the feathers about the belly, and assumes a
different aspect ; her eyes are alternately inclined
obliquely upwards and sideways ; she stretches forth
her neck in every direction, to discover birds of prey
or other enemies ; her wings are partially spread, and
she softly clucks to keep her tender offspring close
to her side. They proceed slowly, and, as the hatch-
ing generally occurs in the afternoon, they some-
times return to pass the night in the nest. While
very young, the mother leads them to elevated dry
peaces, as if aware that humidity, during the first few

THE TURKEY. 181

days of their life, would be veiy dangerous to them,
they having then no other protection than a delicate,
soft, hairy down. In very rainy seasons wild turkeys
are scarce, because, when completely wetted, the
young rarely survive.

" At the expiration of about two weeks, the young
leave the ground on which they had previously re-
posed at night under the female, and follow her to
some low, large branch of a tree, where they nest)*
under the broadly curved wings of their vigilant and
fostering parent. The time then approaches in
which they seek the open ground or prairie land du-
ring the day, in search of strawberries, and subse-
quently of dewberries, blackberries, and grasshop-
pers ; thus securing a plentiful food, and enjoying
the influence of the genial sun. They frequently
dust themselves in shallow cavities of the soil, or on
ant-hills, in order to clean off the loose skin of their
growing feathers, and rid themselves of ticks and
other vermin.

" The young turkeys now grow rapidly, and in
the month of August, when several broods flock to-
gether, and are led by their mothers to the forest,
they are stout and quite able to secure themselves
from the unexpected attacks of wolves, foxes, lynxes,
and even cougars, by rising quickly from the ground,
aided by their strong legs, and reaching with ea*«
the upper limbs of the tallest tree. Amongst the
numerous enemies of the wild turkey, the most
dreaded are the large diurnal and nocturnal birds vf

132 THE TURKEY.

prey, and the lynx (Felis vufa\ who sucks their eggs,
and is extremely expert at seizing both parent and
young ; he follows them for some distance, in order
to ascertain their course, and then, making a rapid
circular movement, places himself in ambush before
them, and waits until, by a single bound, he can
fasten on his victim.

" The following circumstance is related by Bar-
tram : — ( Having seen a flock of turkeys at some
distance, I approached them with great caution,
when, singling out a large cock, and being just on
the point of firing, I observed that several young
cocks were affrighted, and in their language warned
the rest to be on their guard against an enemy, who
I plainly perceived was industriously making his
subtle approaches towards them, behind the fallen
trunk of a tree, about twenty yards from me. This
cunning fellow-hunter was a large fat wild cat or
lynx ; he saw me, and a* times seemed to watch my
motions, as if determined to seize the delicious prey
before me ; upon which I changed my object, and
levelled my piece at him. At that instant my com-
panion, at a distance, also discharged his piece, the
*5port of which alarmed the flock of turkeys, and
^fty fellow hunter, the cat, sprang over the log, and
dotted off:

" These birds are guardians of each other; and the
first who sees a hawk or eagle, gives a note of alarm,
on which all within hearing lie close to the ground.
Aa *kav usually roost in flocks, perched on the naked

THE TURKEY. 13tf

branches of trees, they are easily discovered by the
large owls, and, when attacked by these prowling
birds, often escape by a somewhat remarkable ma-
noeuvre. The owl sails around the spot to select his
prey ; but, notwithstanding the almost inaudible ac-
tion of his pinions, the quick ear of one of the slum-
berers perceives the danger, which is immediately
announced to the whole party by a chuck; thus
alarmed, they rise on their legs, and watch the mo-
tions of the owl, who, darting like an arrow, would
inevitably secure the individual at which he aimed,
did not the latter suddenly drop his head, squat, and
spread his tail over his back ; the owl the.n glances
over without inflicting any injury, at the very instant
that the turkey suffers himself to fall headlong to-
wards the earth, where he is secure from his dreaded
enemy.

" On hearing the slightest noise, wild turkeys con-
°eal themselves in the grass, or among tshrubs, and
thus frequently escape the hunter, or the sharp-sighted
birds of prey. The sportsman is unable to find them
during the day, unless he has a dog trained for the
purpose ; it is necessary to shoot them at a very short
distance, since, when only wounded, they quickly
disappear, and, accelerating their motion by a sort
of half flight, run with so much speed, that the
swiftest hunter cannot overtake them. The travel
ler, driving rapidly down the declivity of one of the
Alleghanies, may sometimes see several of them be-
fore him, that evince no urgent desire to get out of

134 THE TURKEY.

the road ; but on alighting, in hopes of shooting?
them, he soon finds that all pursuit is vain.

" In the spring, when the males are much ema-
tiated by their attendance on the females, it some
limes may happen that, in cleared countries, they
can be overtaken by a swift cur dog, when they will
squat, and suffer themselves to be caught by the dog
or hunter, who follows on horseback. But from the
knowledge we have gained of this bird, we do not
hesitate to affirm, that the manner of running down
turkeys, like hares or foxes, so much talked of, is a
mere fable, as such a sport would be attended with
very trifling success. A turkey hound will some-
times lead his master several miles, before he can a
second time jlusk the same individual frona his con-
cealment ; and even on a fleet horse, after following
one for hours, it is often found impossible to put it
up. During a fall of melting snow, turkeys will tra-
vel extraordinary distances, and are often pursued in
vain by any description of hunters ; they have then a
long straddling manner of running, very easy to
themselves, but which few animals can equal. This
disposition for running, during rains or humid wea-
ther, is common to all gallinaceous birds.

" The males are frequently decoyed within gun-
shot, in the breeding season, by forcibly drawing the
*ir through one of the wing bones, producing a sound
very similar to the voice of the female ; but the per-
former on this simple instrument must commit no
iwror, for turkeys are quick of hearing, and, when

THE TURKEY 135

frequently alarmed, are wary and cunning. Some
of these will answer to the call without advancing
a step, and thus defeat the speculations of the hun-
ter, who must avoid making any movement, inasmuch
as a single glance of a turkey may defeat his hopes
of decoying them. By imitating the cry of the bar-
red owl (Strix nebulosa)) the hunter discovers many
on their roosts, as they will reply hy a gobble to
every repetition of this sound, and can thus be ap-
proached with certainty about daylight, and easily
killed.

" Wild turkeys are very tenacious of their feeding
grounds, as well as of the trees on which they have
once roosted. Flocks have been known to resort to
one spot for a succession of years, and to return af-
ter a distant migration in search of food. Their
roosting place is mostly on a point of land, jutting
into a river, where there are large trees. When they
have collected at the signal of a repeated gobbling,
they silently proceed towards their nocturnal abodes,
and perch near each other : from the number some-
times congregated in one place, it would seem to be
the common rendezvous of the whole neighbourhood.
But no position, however secluded or difficult of ac-
cess, can secure them from the attacks of the artful
and vigilant hunter, who, when they are all quietly
perched for the night, takes a stand previously chosen
by daylight, and, when the rising moon enables him
to take sure aim, shoots them down at leisure, and
OY carefully singling out those on the lower branches

136 THE TURKEY.

first, he may secure Dearly the whole flock, neither
the presence of the hunter, nor the report of his gun,
intimidating the turkeys, although the appearance of
a single owl would be sufficient to alarm the whole
troop : the dropping of their companions from their
sides excites nothing but a buzzing noise, which
seems more expressive of surprise than fright. This
fancied security or heedlessness of danger, while at
roost, is characteristic of all the gallinaceous birds of
North America.

" The more common mode of taking turkeys is
by means of pens, constructed with logs, covered in
at top, and with a passage in the earth under one
side of it, just large enough to admit an individual
when stooping. The ground chosen for this purpose
is generally sloping, and the passage is cut on the
lower side, widening outwards. These preparations
being completed, Indian corn is strewed for some
distance around the pen, to entice the flock, which,
picking up the grain, is gradually led towards the
passage, and thence into the enclosure, where a suf-
ficient quantity of corn is spread to occupy the leader
until the greater part of the turkeys have entered.
When they raise their heads and discover that they
are prisoners, all their exertions to escape are di-
rected upwards and against the sides of the pen, not
having sagacity enough to stoop sufficiently low to
pass out by the way they entered, and thus they be-
come an easy prey, not only to the experienced hun-
ter, but even to the boys on the frontier settlements.

THE TURKEY. 137

" In proportion to the abundance or scarcity of
food, and its good or bad quality, they are small or
large, meagre or fat, and of an excellent or indiffe-
rent flavour ; in general, however, their flesh is more
delicate, more succulent, and better tasted than
that of the tame turkey : they are in the best order
late in the autumn, or in the beginning of winter.
The Indians value this food so highly when roasted,
that they call it ' the white man's dish,' and present
it to strangers as the best they can offer.

" The Indians make much use of their tails as
fans ; the women weave their feathers with much art
on a loose web made of the rind of the birch -tree, ar-
ranging them so as to keep the down on the inside,
and exhibit the brilliant surface to the eye. A spe-
cimen of this cloth is in the Philadelphia Museum ;
it was found enveloping the body of an Indian fe-
male, in the great Saltpetre cave of Kentucky."

We have already mentioned, that the turkey, in
a domesticated state, has been distributed to al-
most every part of the civilized world ; but, con-
trary to the general effect of domestication, it has
rather deteriorated than improved in that state.
" So far from having gained by the care of man, and
the abundance of food accessible in its state of do-
mestication, this bird has degenerated, not only in
Europe and Asia, but, which is certainly extraordi-
nary, even in its native country. The domesticated
turkey of America, accustomed as it is to roam in
the woods and open fields almost without restraint,

138 THE TURKEY.

is in no respect superior to that of the European
poultry-yard.'* Crossing the tame breed with the
wild inhabitants of the forests, is said again to im-
prove them, and is often resorted to in Pennsylvania,
and a few of the other States.

" This crossing often occurs in countries where
wild and tame turkeys are found. It is well known
that they will readily approach each other; and such
is the influence of slavery even upon the turkey, that
the robust inhabitant of the forest will drive his de-
generate kinsfolk from their own food, and from their
females, being generally welcomed by the latter and
by their owners, who well know the advantages of
such a connexion. The produce of this commixture
is much esteemed by epicures, uniting the luscious
obesity of the one, with the wild flavour of the other.
A gentleman, residing in Westchester county, New
York, a few years since procured a young female
wild turkey, in order to make the experiment of
crossing the breed ; but, owing to some circumstance,
it did not succeed, and in the ensuing spring the fe-
male disappeared. In the following autumn she re-
turned, followed by a large brood ; these were quite
shy, but, by a little management, they were secured
in a coop, and the mother allowed her liberty. She
remained on the farm until the succeeding spring,
when she again disappeared, and returned in autumn
with another brood. This course she has repeated
for several successive years.*"

The eggs of the wild birds are frequently hatch-
*Bona arte.

THE TURKEY. 189

ed with the view of crossing, and also to rear as de-
coy birds ; for although they retain much of the wild
habit, and are easily frightened, they feed with the
tame stock and in the woods alternately, and entice
their forest neighbours to partake of the food of the
yard.

In the European poultry-yard, turkeys of almost
every shade of colour are found ; and the curious ef-
fect which domestication exercises over the plumage
of birds, is seen in them to its utmost range. The
gray or gray and white varieties are most and gene-
rally esteemed. Some persons, again, fancy those of
the most unsullied white, as feeding to a large size,
and having pure and tender flesh ; while, again, those
of a reddish or cream colour are alone admitted.
The most hardy variety, however, certainly is what
is called the black. The general colour is black,
but various shades of brown occur, and the whole
plumage has more of the rich bronzy lustre of the ,
wild bird than any of the others. We successfully
cultivated tbis variety for several years ; the young
were reared with the greatest ease, and with very
few accidents, and they reached a weight of from
twenty to twenty-five pounds, without cramming, or
other extra feeding. It was a curious circumstance,
that almost every brood had one of a pure white,
though the parents and rest of the flock were
black. M. Temminck mentions a variety of the
turkey, which was kept by Madame Backer in a
menagerie or aviary at the Hague. It had a crest

140 THE TURKEY.

springing from the crown, of black or white feathers.
The same miiy reared a flock of this variety of a pale
reddish tint, and having the crest ample, and of a
pure white.

Upon the Continent, Languedoc and Provence
have been long celebrated for their breed of turkeys.
In this country, Norfolk, Suffolk, and some of the
neighbouring counties, contribute most to the Lon-
don markets. They are an article of much import-
ance to the cottagers and farmers ; arid, during au-
tumn, flocks of many hundreds are met on the roads,
upon their way to town, driven and kept in order by
a long stick, with a lash of red rag. Dr Latham
tells us, that, one Saturday night and Sunday morn-
ing, no fewer than 1700 turkeys left Norwich by
the coaches ; and, two days after, half as many more.
In some of the extensive parks and royal forests,
turkeys are also kept in considerable numbers, where
they soon fatten upon the mast and acorns ; and, in
addition to the emolument yielded by their sale, add
much to the picturesque beauty of the woodland
scene. Many were thus kept in Richmond Park* ;
and the great park of Windsor Forest, says Gilpin,
always alive to the fitting accessories for forest sce-
nery, was much frequented by wild turkeys. It
could hardly have had a more beautiful decoration.
"Birds are among the most picturesque objects; their
forms and plumage are both picturesque, and the
turkey is both a large bird, and, being gregarious,
* Pennant, Phil. Trans.

THE TURKEY. 141

form groups which become objects of consequence."
Many of the larger gallinaceous birds might be em-
ployed both as beautiful and useful adornments to
the scenery of a modern park ; and, if water ranked
among its advantages, another tribe might be intro-
duced with equal effect.

The turkey is generally esteemed a stupid bird,
and, in its tame state, perhaps with truth. Its vigi-
lance and cunning in its native forests, however, of-
ten baffle the experience of well trained hunters ;
and the attention and cunning of the female are noted
by Mr Audubon. The attention of the male to the
young is also, in some cases, extraordinary. We have
known him regularly attend and protect the female
and brood from dogs, or other intruders ; and, in two
instances, to take the sole charge upon himself, re-
fusing to admit the female to any share of his cares.
The same bird frequently drove the hen from her
nest, and sat upon the eggs until hatched*.

Mr Audubon relates a curious anecdote of the
turkey, which also illustrates the disposition of the
dog.

"While at Henderson, on the Ohio, I had, among
many other wild birds, a fine male turkey, which had
been reared from its earliest youth under my care,
it having been caught by me when probably not
more than two or three days old. It became so

* I once knew it take place upon two addled eggs, which
the hen had long persevered upon, and upon which b«
kept his place for a fortnight.— ED.

142 THE TURKEY.

tame, that it would follow any person who called it>
and was the favourite of the little village. Yet it
would never roost with the tame turkeys, but regu
larly betook itself, at night, to the roof of the house,
where it remained until dawn. When two years
old, it began to fly to the woods, where it remained
for a considerable part of the day, to return to the
enclosure as night approached. One morning I saw
it fly off, at a very early hour, to the woods, and
took no particular notice of that circumstance. Se-
veral days elapsed, but the bird did not return. I
was going towards some lakes near Green River to
shoot, when, having walked about five miles, I saw
a fine large gobbler cross the path before me, moving
leisurely along. Turkeys being then in prime con-
dition for the table, I ordered my dog to chase it,
and put it up. The animal went off with great ra*
pidity, and, as it approached the turkey, I saw, with
great surprise, that the latter paid little attention.
Juno was on the point of seizing it, when she sud-
denly stopped, and turned her head towards me. I
hastened to them, but you may easily conceive my
surprise, when I saw my own favourite bird, and
discovered that it had recognised the dog, and would
not fly from it, although the sight of a strange dog
would have caused it to run off at once/'
The second species of Turkey is

MKl.lvAC.K'IS OCKI.LATA.
( The OceUateiTtirkey )

iy o£ HorAiras.

143

THE OCELLATED TURKEY.

Meleagris ocellata. — CUVIER.
PLATE III.

Bleleagris ocellata, Cuvier, Memoires du Museum^ vi. pi. 1.
—Dindon ocelli, Temminck.PL Coloriees, pi. 112 — Hon.
duras Turkey, Latham, General History of Birds., viii.
p. 12'J.

THIS splendid and curious bird was first described
by the Baron Cuvier in the Memoires du Museum,
from the specimen which graced the collection of
Mr Bullock, and which, at the dispersion of that va-
luable museum, was purchased by the French Go-
vernment ; and we believe that it is still the only
specimen known to exist in any collection.

The bird was taken by the crew of a vessel, who
were cutting wood in the Bay of Honduras. Three
specimens were seen, and they succeeded in captur-
ing one of them alive, which was sent to Sir Henry
Halford, but, meeting with an accident in the Thames,
it died before being delivered, and that gentleman
presented it to Mr Bullock for his exhibition in the
Egyptian Hall, then in all its splendour, and the
finest in Britain. Nothing was recorded of its ha-
bits and it is not known whether the tail is capable

14-4 THE OCELLATED TURKEY.

of being- expanded as in tTie common species. The
following is nearly the description, taken from that of
Temminck.

" In size it is nearly equal to the common tur-
key, but the tail is not so ample. The bill is of the
same form, and the base with a caruncle, which is ap-
parently capable of the same dilatations and contrac-
tions with that of its congener. The head and two-
thirds of the neck are naked, and appear of the same
livid colour, but without any trace of the fleshy tuhei •
cles on the lower part, which are so prominent a fea-
ture in the physiognomy of the common turkey.
The only appearance of any is five or six above each
eye, five upon the centre of the crown, and upon the
sides of the neck six or seven, arranged in a line
above each other, and at nearly equal distances.
Upon the breast there was no trace of the tuft of
hair, but the plumage was somewhat damaged, and
the knowledge of other specimens must decide whether
this character is also present in this bird. The form
of the feathers is rounded at the ends ; those of the
lower part of the neck, the upper part of the back
scapulars, and all the lower part of the body, are of
a bronzed green, terminated by two bands, the one
black, and the next, or that next the tip, of a golden
bronze colour ; on the other parts of the back, the
distribution of the colours is the same, but as they
approach the coverts of the tail, the tints become
more vivid, the bronzed part becomes of a rich blue,
or emerald-green, according to the change of light,.

THE OCELLATED TURKEY. 145

and the outer band becomes broader, assumes a more
golden lustre, and upon the rump, being tinted with
red, the shades become similar in beauty to the
throat of the ruby-crested humming-bird; the bright-
ness of this border becomes still more striking, being
separated from the blue by a band of deep velvetty
black. The base of each feather on those parts con-
cealed, is gray, mottled with black ; upon the tail
and upper coverts, this gray part becomes apparent,
and the marks assume the form of bars, one of whicn,
immediately succeeding the blue band, surrounds it,
and makes each feather appear eyed or ocellated.
From the distribution of the tail-coverts and lower
feathers of the rump, there are four rows with these
eyed tips, where the gray basal half of the feathers is
visible, and which combines very chastely, or keeps
down as it were the lustre of the others. The tail is
rounded at the end, and only contains fourteen
feathers. The lower parts of the body are banded
with bronze black and green, but without the bril-
liant lustre of the upper parts. The quills and bas-
tard pinions are broad, bordered obliquely with white,
which almost entirely occupies the outer margin of
the first. The secondaries have the outer webs
pure white, the bands in the centre not appearing
when the wings are closed ; the uppermost are
blotched in the centre with black, having a green
lustre, which, as the plumes shorten, expands more

146 THE OCELLATED TURKEY.

over their surface, leaving the last with the edge
only white. The greater coverts are chestnut.
The feet and legs are of a rich lake or purplish
red.

147

GENUS PAVO — LINNIEUS.

THIS form or genus is typical of the family witli
which we are now employed, and should most pro-
perly have been placed first. It is at once charac-
terized by the very great development of the upper
tail-coverts, or train, as they are called, which it is en-
abled to raise and spread in a circle by means of the
true tail, composed of strong and powerful feathers.
There are only two species known; both inhabit
the Continent and Islands of India, and they present
a plumage certainly the most splendid among the
whole feathered world. Their frequency in our barn-
yards has accustomed us to this splendour ; but
when the question comes really to be asked, " Which
is the most splendid bird ?" we shall be able to find
no competitor ; there are many birds which have tints
more exquisite for their delicacy, or more dazzlingly
brilliant, but none present such a mass of gorgeous
adornment as the Peacock.

The splendour of such a bird could not be seen
without attracting attention, and we accordingly find
it mentioned at a very early period. The earliest
notice of it will perhaps be found in the Bible ; it at-
tracted the notice of the mariners of Solomon, who,
in their southern expedition, among many other pro-
ductions of nature, carried these birds to their royaj
master. We afterwards lose sight of it until discovered

148 THE PEACOCK.

+*f the army of Alexander, who felt such admiration
*br it, as to order the infliction of a severe penalty
upon its destroyers. Hence it found its way to
Greece, and Rome, and Europe generally, and had
to perform its part in the luxurious entertainments
of the ancients, while it was thought worthy of De-
ing dedicated to the royal Juno, and of being hand-
ed down to posterity upon the coinage of the coun-
tries. At an early period of English history, when
the baronial entertainments were characterized by
grandeur and pompous ceremonies, approaching near-
ly to the magnificence of royalty, there was scarcely
any noble feast without " pecokkes," which were
stuffed with spices and sweet herbs, roasted and
served up whole, and covered, after dressing, with
the skin and feathers. In our own times, both the
young and the eggs are often seen at the tables of
the opulent. They are also reared as picturesque
accessaries for the park or lawn, in which they will
breed and rear their young without assistance, and
with a little attention only during winter. In
their native countries, superb dresses and shades are
made of the skins and train, and, adorned with pre-
cious stones, form a fitting accompaniment to the
magnificence and show of Eastern manners.

Peacock-shooting is a favourite amusement in In-
dia, where, in some parts, they are extremely abun-
*^ant. " About the passes in the Jungletery district,"
says Colonel Williamson, " I have seen such quan-
tities of pea-fowls as have absolutely surprised me.

THE PEACOCK. 149

Whole woods were covered with their beautiful plu-
mage, to which a rising sun imparted additional bril-
liancy. The small patches of plain among the long
grass, most of them cultivated, and with mustard
then in bloom, which induced the birds to feed, in-
creased the beauty of the scene ; and I speak with-
in bounds when I assert, that there could not be less
than twelve or fifteen hundred pea-fowls, of various
sizes, within sight of the spot where I stood for near
an hour.

u When they are in -numbers scattered in a jungle,
it is easy to get a shot ; but I have always found
much difficulty when the birds flock together, as
they frequently do, to the amount of forty or fifty.
At such times it is not easy to raise them. They
run remarkably fast, and I doubt whether a heavy
spaniel or pointer could raise them. When on the
wing, they fly heavy and strong, generally within an
easy shot ; but if only winged, they speedily recover,
and, if not closely pursued, will nine times in ten
disappear. These plantations are their favourite
shelter, being close above, so as to keep off the solar
rays, and open at the bottom sufficiently to admit a
free passage for the air. If there be trees near such
spots, the peacock may be seen mounting into them
every evening towards dusk to roost, and in which
they generally continue till the sun rises, when they
descend to feed, and pass the midday in the heavy
covers. They are very jealous of all quadrupeds,
especially of dogs ; and when peacocks are discover-

150 THE PEACOCK.

ed on a tree situate on a plain, if a dog be loose and
hunt near it, the bird will rarely move from its situa-
iion, though it will probably shew extreme uneasi-
ness.

" It will appear curious, but it is very certain,"
continues the Colonel, " that peacocks have often
been hunted and run down by horsemen. The
wings of a peacock are by no means proportioned to
the weight of its body and limbs ; besides, they are
not accustomed to long flights, and are soon out of
wind. When a bird is discovered in a tree standing
in a plain, which is frequently the case when game
is abundant, a person mounted on a tolerably active
and governable horse, provided with a lash whip,
may, after keeping as near as possible during thp
first flight, and urging the bird, when it alights, to
its utmost exertion, so completely fatigue it, as to
find some opportunity for whipping, and perhaps
entangle the whip so as to obtain a complete com-
mand." The same has been noticed in the account
of the Wild Turkey ; but we should consider the
opportunities for practising such a chase very un-
common, and that the instances of escape will per-
haps exceed those of capture.

Peacocks are frequently found entirely white.
This variety occurs, according to Temminck, in a
wild state as well as in domestication, and is not
caused, as was alleged by some, from being transport-
ed from a warm to a temperate and even cold cli-
mate. If, however, we may judge from the analogy

THE PEACOCK. 151

of other gallinaceous birds, this colour is much more
frequent in domestication than in its native country.
Pied varieties are also sometimes seen ; and when
the deep blue of the neck and breast is contrasted
frith pure white, they form a beautiful and much
sought for state among collectors for a menagerie.
In the white variety, the feathers, from retaining
their structure, exhibit all the markings of the tail
and other parts distinctly, according as the light fall*
upon them. To illustrate this genus we have fi-
gured

152

THE JAVANESE PEACOCK.

Pavo muticus — LINNAEUS.
PLATE IV.

Pavo Javanensis, U. Aldrovandus^ Ornithologia, ii. p. 33-
34 — Pavo muticus, Linnaeus. — Shawls Naturalist's Mis-
cellany Japan Peacock, Latham^ General Hist, of Birds,

viii. p. 116. — Pavos speciferus, Vieillot^ Galerledes Oiseaux*
pi. 202 — Paon specifere, Temminck, Histoire Natur. des
Pigeons et Gallinaces, ii. p. 56 — Pavo Juvanicus, Hors-
field^ Transactions of Linn. Society ', xiii. p. 185. — The Al-
drovandine Peacock, Pavo Aldrovandi, Wilson''* Illustra-
tions of Zoology, plates xiv. and xv.

THE history of this very beautiful species is yet
little known, though specimens of it, both preserved
for the museum, and also alive, are now much more
frequently brought to this country, and there can
be little doubt, that attention would soon render it
as frequent in our barn-yards as the common spe-
cies.

The first notice of this bird is in the voluminous
work of Ulysses Aldrovandus, who has given two
of his peculiar figures of it, and which at once indi-
cate the species by the form of the crest. These
were taken from drawings sent by the Emperor of
Japan to the Pope, and served for the ground-work

154 THE JAVANESE PEACOCK.

the yellow skin which surrounds the eyes. The fol-
io wing is a more detailed description of a beautiful
specimen in the Edinburgh Museum, from which
our illustration is taken.

This bird is nearly similar in size to the common
peacock, but the whole plumage is of more sub-
dued brilliancy. The principal distinction is io the
form of the feathers of the crest, which, instead
of a nearly bare shaft, and round moon at the tip,
as in the common peacock, are lengthened, webbed
from the base nearly of an equal breadth, and com-
pared by Temminck to the tail of the long-tailed
titmouse. The bare space upon the cheeks, and
round the eyes, is of a fine gamboge-yellow. The
head, neck, and fore part of the breast, are of a
peculiar greenish tint, being brilliant, with golden
reflections in some lights ; in others appearing dull
and subdued. The lower parts are of a dull deep
greenish brown, instead of the rich blue of the
well known bird. The train is not so ample in
proportion, and the eyes or moons are less nume-
rous ; the centre of each is rich blue, encircled with
green, brown, and finally with a bronzed ring. The
shoulders and wing-coverts are without the beau-
tifully waved appearance of the common peacock,
and are of a deep blue. The edge of the wing and
quills are pale yellowish-red. A gradual change
from the young state to the full plumage takes place,
and it is the third moult before the complete train
is displayed.

155

GENUS POLYPLECTRON, TEMM.

THIS genus was established by Temminck, from
the 1'Eperoime of Buffon, the Peacock Pheasant of
Edwards and Sonnerat, the Pavo bicalcaratus and
Tibetanus of Gmelin's Linnaeus. We think there
is no doubt that both this species and that of our
Plate VI. was known to Gmelin ; while the repre-
sentations of Buffon and Sonnerat might have been
taken from either. Prior ornithologists retained
these birds with the peacocks, and that place is as-
signed to it in the last edition of Cuvier's Regne
Animal. Since the institution of the genus, how-
ever, the P. Tibetanus has been examined, and two
additional birds have been discovered, which agree
with the characters assigned to the type, and all dif-
fer from the peacocks in the modifications from which
Temminck has proposed to form his distinctions.

They inhabit the Indian Islands or China, and
seem almost equally hardy with the peacock, living
and thriving well in confinement ; and, if they could
be procured in sufficient numbers to ensure a stock,
would form a most lovely addition to the ornamen-
tal poultry-yard. The chief distinction is in the
form of the tail ; it is rounded and very ample ;
the feathers stiff, and forming a plane surface. It is

156 THE POLYPLECTRON.

never erected, like that of the two preceding genera,
but is capable of a very wide expansion. It has also
what its describers term the upper range of feathers.
These cover the first half of the tail ; and if the lower
range or true tail were removed, the upper would
appear to an unaccustomed observer to be perfect,
and the only feathers belonging to this organ. An-
other singularity is in the tarsi being generally fur-
nished with two spurs upon each, sometimes three,
and, in a few instances, three on one leg, and two
only on that opposite. The cheeks are covered with
feathers, and the whole plumage is perfectly different
in structure from that of the true peacocks. The
fourth species (Plate VII.) varies in the form of the
tail, which becomes much more lengthened, the
shape of the feathers resembling somewhat those of
the next genus to be described. We shall first no-
tice that which seems to have been the species first
known, or brought to Europe ; it is the

ARGUS POLYPLECTRON.

Potyplectron bicalcaratum — TEMMINC K.

Pavo bicalcaratus, Linnaeus^ Gmelin. — Polyplectron bical-
caratum, Eperonnier argus, Temminck. — Le Paon de Ma-
lacca, Sonnerat.

It is evident from the characters given by Gmelin,
that two species of this genus were known, the species

ARGUS POLYPLECTRON 157

we are about to describe, and the P.chinquis of Tem-
minck, for which the old name of Tibetanus should
be retained. The length of the Argus polyplectron
is about 18 or 19 inches. The feathers of the fore-
head are lengthened to a crest, are large, of a brown-
ish-black, and marked with white at the base. All
the rest of the head and neck is covered with short
feathers, of a dull black. The throat is whitish ; and
the cheeks and space surrounding the eyes is freer
from feathers than those parts in the remaining spe-
cies. The back, scapularies, and wing- coverts, are
of a yellowish-brown, thickly sprinkled with black
spots, and having at the tip of each feather an eyed
spot of a rich bluish-green. The breast, belly, vent,
and thighs, are umber-brown, having the shafts white.
The quills are dull brown. The tail, composed of
two ranges of feathers, and rounded, is of the same
colour with the back, thickly mottled with black,
and has the tip of each feather rufous, blotched with
deep black. Near the end of each feather are the
two beautiful eye-like spots, of a brilliant green,
placed close together, and surrounded with a circle
of black.

This bird, which is far from being common, is a
native of Malacca ; most probably also China and
the Indian Islands. It may be easily distinguished
from the P. Tibetanus, its nearest ally, by the less
size, the comparative bareness of the cheeks, its larger
crest, and the different form of the feathers compos-

158 ARGUS POLYPLECTRON.

fag it, and by the eye-like spots being much smaller,
and surrounded only by a ring of black.

Our next Plate will give an idea of the general
form of these birds. That which follows of the
beautiful ocellated distribution of the markings of
the plumage ; our first is

i L, A i r,

PO I.VI'I.K C TK 0 N E M I >' AN 0 M.

ITatiTe of the Molucca islands .

*

DIVERSITY

<S' ^

THE CRESTED POLYPLECTKON.

Potyplectron emphanum — TEMMINCK.
PLATE V.

JSperonniei a Toupet, Polyplectron emphanum, Temminck,
Planches Color iees, p. 540.

THIS bird, of remarkably rich plumage, forms part
of the collection of the Prince of Essling, and was
supposed to have been received from the Sunda
and Molucca Islands. It is about the size of the
Argus polyplectron. The forehead and crown are
adorned with a crest of long, narrow, and loose fea-
thers, and, with the neck and breast, are of a rich
bluish-black, with metallic reflections. Above the
eyes there is a large white streak, and a patch of the
same colour upon the auricular feathers, both of a
pure and shining tint, rendered more conspicuous
from the contrast of the surrounding parts. The
belly and vent are deep black. The back and rump
are of a dull brown, with irregular wavy bands of a
paler tint. The wing-coverts and secondaries are of
a brilliant blue, each tipped with a band of velvety
black. The tail, very much rounded, is brown,
marked with numerous minute spots of ochraceoua
white ; it has, near the tip, on each side of the shaft,

160 CRESTED FOLYPLECTRON.

a large ocellated oval spot, of a very brilliant and me-
tallic green. These are surrounded with two circles,
the first black, the next of a clear brown ; and to-
ward the end of each feather there is a bar of black,
which, at the very tip, is succeeded by a narrow
band of white. The legs, like the others, are armed
with two spurs.

The female has not been yet discovered ; and it
may be remarked, that this species is by far the
rarest in ornithological collection*.

PLATK

161

THE THIBETIAN POLYPLECTRON.

Polyplectron Tibetanus. — GMELIN.
PLATE VI.

Pavo Tibetanus, Linn. Gmel ii. 731 — Peacock Pheasant,
Edwards — Eperonnier chinquis, Polyplectron chinquis,
Temminck, Planches Coloriees, 539. Male.

THIS is another very beautiful species of Poly-
plectron, inhabiting, it is believed, the mountainous
chain which separates Hindostan from Thibet, whence
they are procured, and reared in the menageries of
the wealthy Chinese. It is easily domesticated, aud
might be made to breed in confinement ; the bin'
from which Temminck took his drawing and descrip-
tion having lived for five or six years in an aviary At
the Hague.

The entire length of the Thibetian Polyplectron is
22 inches, the form rather light and elegant. It is
without a crest ; but the small feathers of the crown
are turned forward, and appear in an irregular or
disarranged state ; they are of a greyish-brown. The
throat is whitish. The feathers of the neck, the
breast, and belly, are of a dull brown, crossed with
transverse undulated bands of blackish-brown. The
back, rump, and coverts of the tail, are of a clear
brown, spotted, and transversely undulated with
L

162 THIBETIAN POLYPLECTRON.

greyish-white. The quills are brown, marked with
greyish. The other feathers composing the wings
are generally of a yellowish-grey tint, sprinkled
with little bands of blackish -brown, and having at
the extremity of each a large round eyed spot, of
brilliant blue, with purple and opaline reflections.
These are surrounded with a circle of deep black,
which is again encircled with a ring of yellowish-
white. The feathers composing the tail are of a
dull brown, sprinkled with small spots of ochraceous
yellow. Upon each of the twenty-two true tail-fea-
thers, at about an inch and a half from the tip, and
on those which have been called the upper range, at
one inch from the tip, there are two oval spots, se-
parated only by the shaft. They, like those upon
the wing, have the double circles of deep black and
yellowish-white, arid are clouded with the same
purple and blue reflections, but which scarcely equal
the others in brilliancy.

The female is said by Temminck to differ only in
the lesser brilliancy of the eyed spots, in having a
shorter tail, and in the want of spurs. In the younj*,
the plumage is of an earthy grey, marked with large
brown spots and bands ; at the first month the plum-
age becomes more irregular, and the space upon the
wings and tail, where the spots are to appear, are
seen, they are still deprived of their lustre, and there
is no trace of the pale circle. At the third moult
the plumage of these beautiful birds attains its per-
fection and Jkiliiaiicy.

POLYPLECTRO1S CffALpI

'

163

LONG-TAILED POLYPLECTRON.

Polyplectron chalcurum — TEMMINOK.

PLATE VII.

Eperonmer chalcnre, Polyplectron chalcurum, Temminck,
Planches Colorizes, 519.

THIS bird differs from its congeners in wanting the
ocelteted spots on the various parts of the plumage,
which is also entirely of a more sombre shade, and
in the form of the tail, which becomes lengthened
and runs into the form of that of Argus. Temminck
is the only ornithologist who has described and figur-
ed it, and the specimen in the Parisian Museum,
which served for the copy, he tells us, was unique.
The head, neck, breast, belly, and wings, are of an
umber brown ; the back, greater coverts, and scapu-
lars are of a reddish umber, having numerous waves
or crosses of black ; the tail, as we mentioned, is
much longer than in any of the others, and has not
the two ranges, as it were, of feathers, is brown,
with green and violet reflections, and is mottled over
with irregular spots of black. Each tarsus is armed
with two sharp spurs. The total length of the spe-

164 LONG-TAILED POLYPLECTRON.

cimen was about eighteen inches, and was received
from the island of Sumatra.

Two additional species are figured by Mr Gray,
in his Illustrations of Indian Zoology, but without de-
scriptions. These figures are correct copies from
the drawings collected by General Hardwick, and
are the work of native artists. The first, Mr Gray
has dedicated to the General, Polyplectron Hard
wickii. It is nearly allied to the P. bicalcaratum.
The ground colour of the plumage is ochrey yellow,
with black spots and waves, the ocellated spots are
surrounded with a black and yellow ring, and the
head is furnished with a slightly bending forward
greenish crest. Two of the dorsal feafhers from each
bird are also given ; the distinctions are, that of P.
Hard wickii lias a yellowish ground, with irregular
black spots, that of P. bicalcaratum, darkish grey,
with pale yellow spots.

The other bird is named P. lineatum, apparently
from a narrow pale line along the shaft of the fea-
thers, particularly conspicuous on the rump. This,
however, appears to me to be the young of some
other species ; there are no spurs on the tarsi, and
the description which Temminck gives of the young
state of P. ocellatum, is near to the plumage of this
bird. Our next illustration represents the genus Ar-
gus of Temminck, containing a single species, which

»o

AB.&US &I&ANTE

JsTative of B

JG5

THE ARGUS PHEASANT, OR GIGlNTIC ARGUS.

Argut giganteus. — TEMMIXCK.
PLATE VIII.

Argus or Luen, Philosophical Transactions, 55, p. 88 — L'Ar-
gas ou Luen, Buffbn — Argus Pheasant, Phasianus Argus,
Latham's General History, viii. p. 206. — L' Argus, Argus
giganteus, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinaces, ii. 41 1-*"
Synopsis, iii, 679.

THIS superb bird presents a very singular form
among the Gallinaceous order, one which has^puzzled
most ornithologists into what genus it was to be
placed, until Temminck thought of forming one to
contain itself. It is chiefly remarkable for the super-
abundant development of its plumage, particularly
that of the wings ; while its colours, though possess-
ing little of the brilliant splendour of those which
we have past, by a union of chaste tints and harmo-
nious blending, produce an effect at once unique,
striking, and pleasing.

The descriptions and figures were long imperfect,
by reason of the skins being transmitted to Eu-
rope in a mutilated state, the head and feet being
often wanting, and the wings only being sent. It
was described in the Philosophical Transactions, and

166 THE ARGUS PHEASANT, OR GIGANTIC ARGUS.

also in those of Batavia, by the Baron Cuvier, but
from imperfect specimens. Dr Latham collects the
information of his predecessors, and that afforded to
him by Dr Buchanan, and his figure of the Malay
Peacock, evidently this bird, is taken from General
Hardwick's drawings ; the description in Sonnini's
edition of Buffon is extracted from the Philosophi-
cal Transactions. M. Temminck appears to have
been the first to have described this bird, from a se-
ries of specimens received from Batavia, where, with
some other birds of splendid plumage, they form an
article of commerce, and are exported as ornaments
to different parts of dress, screens, or drapery. It
is a native of Sumatra, probably some others of the
Indian islands, but principally of the peninsula of
Malacca ; and although said, generally by ornitholo-
gical writers, to inhabit China and Chinese Tartary,
there exists no proof of specimens having been
brought from thence.

In size the Argus is not larger than an ordi-
nary fowl, but the length to the end of the two long
tail feathers, is five feet three inches, these last be-
ing of themselves three feet eight inches. It is im-
possible to convey any idea of the markings and
blending of the shades on many parts of this bird,
and the following description will serve as only an
indication of the colours. The throat, the anterior
part of the neck, and the cheeks, are naked, or nearly
so, having only a few black hairs dispersed over them.
The head and back of the neck are covered with

THE ARGUS PHEASANT, OR GIGANTIC ARGUS. 167

short velvety feathers. The lower part of the
neck, breast, belly, and thighs, are reddish brown,
each feather regularly spotted with dull yellow and
jlack ; the upper part of the back, and lesser wing
coverts, are covered with large black spots, sepa-
rated by a narrow line of an ochreous tint ; the up-
per tail covers are of a clear ochreous yellow, with
brown spots ; the longest of a paler tint, with the
spots thicker than upon the back, and of a reddish
brown in the centre. The tail is of a deep chestnut,
sprinkled with white spots, surrounded with a black
ring. The wings, of which the secondaries are three
times the length of the quills, being about two feet
ten inches long, from their unwieldy size, almost en-
tirely deprive the bird of flight, but greatly accele-
rate its pace when running, and, acting as powerful
sails, furnish it with a mode, of transportation or
escape, possessing great fleetness. The power of
flying, however, adds M. Temminck, is not altoge-
ther denied to it; it sometimes rises from the ground,
but the flight is always heavy, and kept up only for
a short way, and upon these organs, and particularly
upon the secondaries, is lavished the greater part of
the beautiful adornment. When at rest, or not ex-
cited, these spots are hardly visible, but when in the
presence of his females, the wings are expanded and
trailed upon the ground, displaying their beauties as
the peacock exhibits his train, or the turkey his tail.
At this time the tail is comparatively spread, and is
raised erect. When it rests, it is carried in a line

168 THE ARGUS PHEASANT, OR GIGANTIC ARGUS.

with the body, and with the two plumes folded to-
gether.

The young males possess none of the varied mark-
ings just now attempted to be described. They are
of a uniform dull brown, spotted and irregularly
blotched, reddish-yellow, brown, and black. After
the first moult, there is still no appearance of the
ocellated spots. The shafts of the feathers of the
wings are black, the quills are of a dull brown, clouded
with a line on the inner webs, and marked towards
the tip with black and brown spots ; the secondaries
are of a uniform brown on the inner webs, but the
outer ones have a ground of brownish-yellow, with
black wavy bands, and the part where the ocellated
spots are to appear are marked with black crescents
surrounded with chestnut. After the second moult,
all the colours of the adult acquire a regular distri-
bution ; after the third, they are still better defined,
the showy spots are small, of an irregular form, and
much less numerous than in the adults ; and it is not
until after the fourth moult, that the shades acquire
their perfect brilliancy, and the markings their re-
gularity *.

The female is still less known than the male.
Among the birds sent from abroad, those of unob-
trusive plumage are seldom included, and when
commerce is the object, even a reiterated request
foils in procuring the wished for specimens. With
thirty males, Temminck thought himself fortunate
* Temminck.

THE ARGUS PHEASANT, OR GIGANTIC ARGUS. 169

in procuring two females. Like the male, the head
and forepart of the neck is naked, a thick short
down covers the top of the head, stretching down
upon the neck, where it gradually lengthens, and as-
sumes the form of feathers : these parts are of a
brownish grey. The lower part of the neck, breast,
and upper parts of the back, are of a chestnut red ;
the lower part of the back, rump, lesser wing coverts,
and those of the tail, have, upon a yellowish-brown
ground, numerous black transverse bands, some large,
and others narrow in the form of zigzags ; the tail,
which has no long feathers, as in the male, folds to-
gether, and forms an angle like that of a hen ; it is
of a brownish chestnut, varied with spots and black
bands, but the most remarkable difference is in the
secondaries ; in the male we found them to be two
feet ten inches long, in this sex they are onjy about
thirteen inches, and possess neither the development
in breadth, nor the ocellated spots so conspicuous
in the other. They are of a blackish brown, marked
with small and irregular bands of ochrey yellow.

The habits of this singular bird are yet a point of
much interest in Ornithology. They are said not
to thrive well in a state of confinement, and we be-
lieve have never been brought alive to this country
Their incubation and breeding are equally unknown.

170

GENUS GALLUS, — BRISSON.

Modern ornithologists have properly separated
the birds generally known under the title of Cocks,
from the Pheasants, with which they were formerly
united, and have restored to them Brisson's more an-
cient title of Gallus. Thus restricted, they are dis-
tinguished from the pheasants, by the crown of the
head being naked, and the skin being raised into a
fleshy elongation, called the comb, assuming different
forms in different species, and by the base of the
lower mandibles having fleshy lobes or wattles, by
the tail being generally carried erect, composed of
two planes folded together at a sharp angle, and
in the males having the centre feathers elongated,
and falling gracefully over the others. The feathers
of the neck, and lower part of the back and tail-co-
verts, assume a particular form, and are either long and
hackled or truncated ; in either state they are very
amply supplied. They are all natives of India and
her islands, frequenting the forest and jungle. They
are polygamous, and very pugnacious regarding their
females, proclaiming their victory and prowess with
a loud and piercing voice. The plumage of the
males is brilliant, of the female dull and unobtrusive,
and there is often a considerable disparity in size.

THE GIGANTIC COCK. 171

It is from these birds that we are indebted for the
domestic poultry of our farm-yards. Many native
species are at the present time known, and we con-
sider it very difficult to determine which is the di-
rect origin of our reclaimed fowls. They may have
reached their present state from a mixture of many,
but with Ternminck we are inclined to give the pre-
ference to two species, the Gallus giganteus and
Bankiva, both natives of Java, on account of the do-
mestic females bearing the greatest resemblance to
those in a wild state, by the similarity of the form
and structure of the feathers, and by the males of
those possessing the greatest development of como
and wattles. The first of these birds may be now
described :

GIGANTIC COCK.

Gallus giganteus, — TEMMINCK.

The description of M. Temminck is founded up-
on the notices which have been given by Dampier
and Marsden, the only portion of the bird which he
had seen being the leg and foot, of which he gives a
plate in his Natural History of Gallinaceous Birds.
There is a specimen in the Edinburgh Museum said
to be wild from Sumatra, of a large size, and to
which, in several particulars, the large breed of cocks
in this country bear considerable resemblance, par-
ticularly in the comb, which extends backwards in a

172 THE GIGANTIC COCK.

line with the eyes, and is thick, slightly raised, and
upon the top rounded, and as it were cut off. The
throat is hare, and there are two wattles from the
under mandibles of comparatively small size. The
head, neck, and upper part of the back is covered
with pale golden-reddish hackles, which spring also
slightly before the bare space of the throat. The
centre of the back and lesser wing-coverts are deep
chestnut, the feathers with the webs disunited, the
hackles covering the rump, and base of the tail pale
reddish-yellow, long and bending down. Tail very
ample and entirely of a glossy green. Greater wing-
coverts glossy-green, secondaries and quills with
outer webs pale reddish-yellow. The whole under
parts deep glossy blackish green, with strong reflec-
tions, and having the base of the feathers deep chest-
nut, which occasionally appears and makes these
parts seem mottled and interrupted. The height of
this specimen from the ground is about 2 feet 2 to
2 feet 4 inches.

The cocks with ample crests upon the head, five
toes ; the rumpless cock, and those of very varied co-
lours, appear chiefly to have arisen from the various
circumstances attending domestication and crossing.
The most pleasing of these are specimens with a super-
abundant crest and auricular feathers. The crest is
composed of narrow hackled feathers, which grow
erect from the head, but fall down in graceful curves,
and are sometimes so long as to overhang and shadow
the eyes. Jn many parts this breed is much culti-

THE GIGANTIC COCK. 173

vated, and is esteemed in proportion as the colours
of the hody and crest can be got most conspicuously
contrasted, a black body with white crest, and the
reverse, &c. Other fancy breeds are also frequent-
ly seen in the Dutch Pencilled Fowl, pure white
spotted with black, the Siberian Fowl, having long
tufts of feathers springing from the lower jaws and
hanging down, arid the Barbary Fowl, of a pale dun
colour, and having the feathers of the neck very am-
ple and spotted with black. A more singular anomaly
occurs in those with five toes, generally called Dork-
ing Fowls from being found and bred in most abun-
dance in the neighbourhood of Dorking in Surry. This
race is easily continued, and seems analogous either
to the six-fingered of six-toed individuals of man-
kind, or to the dogs with the additional claws. They
are much esteemed, are generally pure white, and
grow to a large size ; Dr Latham records one which
weighed almost fourteen pounds. A still more ano-
malous race occurs perhaps in those without a tail,
the Rumpless or Persian Cock, but we have also
races analogous to them in the tailless races of dogs
and cats.

There are three races of cocks, however, whose
claim to actual distinction of species is not very well
or satisfactorily ascertained, the G. morio, having
the periosteum of the bones black, and the comb,
wattles, and skin of a dull purple. It has received the
name of Negro and Blackamoor Cock, but I believe
is scarcely to be seen in the poultry-yards of this

J74 THE GIGANTIC COCK.

country. The other two varieties are more frequently
seen, and are known as the Silky Cock (G. lanatus),
and the Friesland Cock (G. crispus). The first, Tem-
ininck is inclined to consider distinct. It is found
in Japan and China, and is sold to Europeans as a
rarity. In this country it crosses easily with the
white domestic poultry, and a breed having the
feathers less disunited and silky is the consequence.
It is a curious fact, that the periosteum and skin of
this bird are of the same dark colour with those of
the G. morio, while the flesh is remarkably white. The
size is rather small, the plumage of the purest white,
the feathers having the webs disunited are of a silky
appearance and feel, and the comb and wattles are
of a laky purple. The Friesland or Crested Cock
lias all the feathers as it were turned the wrong way ;
they stand nearly at right angles with the body.
The general colour of the plumage is white, but it is
often seen varied like the other domestic races. It
also occurs in a domesticated state in Java and Su-
matra, but Temminck thinks it a distinct species,
and peculiar to some parts of the Indian islands
yet unexplored. We, however, think this less pro-
bable, than that the two previously mentioned are
separate in their origin, as we meet with analogous
variations in the hair of animals, which we know to
belong to one race.

It is from a better known species that the race of
Bantams appears to have sprung ; the G. Bankiva
of Temminck, which we have represented in the vig-

THE BANKIVA COCK. 175

nette accompanying this volume. It will stand as

the

BANKIVA COCK.

Callus bankiva — TEMMINCK.
(See Vignette Title-page.)

Coq et Poule Bankiva, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinacfo,

'L p. 86 Gallus Bankiva, and Ayara utan or Brooga,

Transactions of Linnean Society, xiii. p. 135. and 319. —
Javan Cock, Latham, General History, vol. viii. p. 166.—
Gallus Bankiva, Illustrations of Ornithology, plate 150.

Many Bantams so nearly resemble this bird, that
there would be great difficulty in making a distinc-
tion. Around the eyes and the throat is bare, the
comb is ample, with an irregular outline, and narrow
lengthened lobes arise from the crown, and two wattles
spring from the lower mandible. The head, back,
and sides of the neck surrounding the bare skin up-
on the throat and the rump, are covered with long
hackles of a clear and brilliant golden-orange. Be-
low the hackles the upper part of the back is bluish-
black, and the centre with the lesser wing-coverts
are of a rich deep chestnut, the webs of the feathers
quite disunited. The greater coverts are steel-blue,
the secondaries of the same colour, with a broad
irargin of chestnut, the quills brownish-black, edged
with pale reddish -yellow. The tail is black, with
rich green and blue reflections, the whole under parti
are black.

1 76 THE BANKIVA COCK.

There is another bird, of which we have seen thr^o
or four specimens, very closely allied to this, hut cer-
tainly distinct. The specimens alluded to were all
from the continent of India. In size they were ra-
ther larger than what we consider the true G. ban-
kiva. The following is a description of one of
them : —

Comb large, dentated upon its frontal margin, an
oval lengthened wattle at the base of each lower man-
dible, the cheeks, throat, base, and fore part of the
neck terminating in a point bare of feathers. Crown
of the head surrounding the comb yellowish-brown,
changing into golden ochraceous-yellow, the colour
of the exterior margin of the hackles, and most pre-
dominating. These cover the whole back and sides
of the neck. Each hackle has a black centre, and
is rather abruptly as it were worn off at the tip. The
fore part of the neck is of a steel-blue surrounding
the naked skin, the feathers rounded and solid. Un-
der this the breast, belly, and lower part of the back
is covered with hackles of a clear reddish-yellow on
the outer margins, the centres of a chestnut-brown,
having the same form at the tip with those of the
neck, and becoming broader as they reach the lower
part of the body. On the shoulders the margins of
the small feathers are of a pale golden-yellow, the
centres chestnut-brown, edged on each side with
black. As they approach the long hanging secon-
daries the margins become darker, and the centres
only chestnut, nearly similar to those on the breast.

THE BANKIVA COCK. 177

On the lower part of the back, rump, and part of the
tail-coverts, the hackles are broad, the centres solid
deep black, glossed with green, steel-blue, and pur-
ple, none of them very lengthened or pendulous.
The quills and secondaries black, glossed with steel-
blue, the greater coverts chestnut on the outer webs.
Belly and vent black. Tail nearly like that of the
common fowl, perhaps a little more horizontal, centre
feather longest, curved and bending out. The larger
tail-coverts steel-blue, broad, curved, and bending
outwards.

To this we refer the Gallus Turcicus of Brisson,
or Cock of Turkey. The true Bantams, so called
from the name of the town in Java, are distin-
guished by the plumed legs, a variation incident on-
ly to cultivation and domestication. A still more
dwarf race is known under the title of the Gallus
pumilo ; this is extremely diminutive, but nearly of
the same colours, and is much cultivated among
cock-fanciers. There is a club in the vicinity of
London who compete and give prizes to those who
succeed in producing the smallest breed.

These seem to be the principal cultivated races of
these useful birds. Innumerable crosses are, how-
ever, made according to the taste of fanciers, re-
markable both for their beauty and deformity. The
origin of them all, and the claim of some to distinc-
tion, is however still in a certain obscurity, and will
probably continue so.

178 THE BANKIVA COCK.

The cock in some of its varieties was known at a
very early period, but we have no traces how it was
introduced to Greece or Southern Europe. It made
a figure at the public shows of the Greeks and Ro-
mans, who have preserved records of it upon their
coinage, and in their mythology have dedicated it to
Apollo, Mercury, ^sculapius and Mars. At the
Roman banquets it was also for a while a prominent
dish ; the finest were fattened in the Island of Delos,
whose inhabitants were proud of their success in
feeding, and that island, with Rhodes, also produced
the best and boldest at the public fights. Meal,
milk, and darkness, were said to be the great secrets
of the art ;

Pascitur et dulci facilis gallina farina,
Pascitur et tenebris, ingeniosa gula est.

Mart. xiii. 62.

and the modern art of cramming, with all its cruel-
ties, was also perhaps resorted to ; for a law was af-
terwards made, that no one should bring to his table
more than one fowl, and that this should neither be
crammed nor forcibly fattened.

In later days a certain superstition is attached to
the cock and the various periods at which he crows ;
his crowing dispels all spirits, whether good or evil —

Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air.

The ghost in Hamlet " faded at the crowing of the
cock," and the idea has ever been a favourite one
with poets and romancers, and is frequently called

THE BANKIVA COCK. 179

to assist in getting rid of the many mysterious forms
which the embellishment of their story required.
During the season of the Welsh ceremony of the
plygan or cock-crowing, the cock was supposed to
exert this power through the night to the utmost ex-
tent, an old opinion finely described by Shakspeare :

Some say that ever against that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long ;
And then, they say, no spirit walks abroad ;
The nights are wholesome ; then no planets strike ;
No fairy takes ; nor witch has power to charm,
So hallowed and so gracious is the time.

But the most disgraceful purpose of luxury, fa-
shionable amusement, or whatever it may be termed,
to which this noble bird has been subjected, is that
of cock-fighting. It is generally allowed to have
been a Grecian institution, and at its commencement
to have been held in the estimation of a rite entirely
religious and political. By degrees its serious cha-
racter became lessened, and it was practised with all
its cruelties, and the zest heightened by the gam-
bling propensities of its greatest supporters. It is
supposed to have been introduced to this country in
the time of the Csesars, and became a royal pastime.
In India it has also been long known, and perhaps
carried to a greater extent than among any other
people, whole fortunes and properties being staked,
and even wives and children risked, upon the event
of the contest. In England, with what was called
" throwing at cocks," it formed a prominent part in

180 THE BANKIVA COCK.

the amusements of Shrove-Tuesday, till so late as
the commencement of 1700. It was permitted in the
public schools as an amusement to the boys, the
preceptor, in some instances, being obliged to furnish
the victims, which served to lessen the expense
these institutions, by collecting a certain rent or due
for each cock which was produced ; and in a parish in
the north of Scotland, according to the last Statisti-
cal Account, the schoolmaster's perquisites were the
cock-fighting dues, equal to one quarter's payment
of each scholar.

Throwing at cocks is perhaps less known. The
following description is given by Brand, in his inte-
resting popular antiquities : — " The owner of the
cock trains his bird for some time before Shrove-
Tuesday, and throws a stick at him himself, in order
to prepare him for the fatal day, by accustoming him
to watch the threatened danger, and, by springing
aside, to avoid the fatal blow. He holds the poor
victim on the spot marked out by a cord fixed to his
leg, at a distance of nine or ten yards, so as to be
out of the way of the stick himself. Another spot
is marked, at the distance of twenty-two yards, for
the person who throws to stand upon. He has three
shys or throws for twopence, and wins the cock if
he can knock him down, and run up and catch him
before the bird recovers his legs. In 1680 this cus-
tom was sanctioned in the environs of London, and
the proceeds applied to the poor-rates."

A hen was also sometimes made use of in another

THE BANKIVA COCK. 181

noisy and ridiculous pastime of this period — " Thresh-
ing the Hen."

At Shrovetide to shroving go thresh the fat hen,
If blindfold can kill him, then give it thy men.

Tusser.

" The Hen," says Brand, " was hung at a fellow's
back, who has also some horse bells about him ; the
rest of the fellows are blinded, and have boughs in
their hands, with which they chase this fellow with
his hen about some large court or small enclosure,
the fellow with his hen and bells shifting as well as
he can, they follow the sound, and sometimes hit
him and his hen ; at other times, if he can get be-
hind one of them, they thrash one another right fa-
vourably. When the hen was killed, it was boiled
with bacon, and store of pancakes and fritters are
made."

For economical purposes there is no bird used to
the same extent. Among all nations it is most ex-
tensively reared, and we believe is one of the only
instances where artificial means have been attempted
with success. The Egyptians have practised this
manner of rearing poultry with the greatest nicety,
and in the edifices heated by flues, .and constructed
for this purpose only, from 40,000 to 50,000 chickens
could be hatched at once. This was attempted to
be introduced into various parts of Europe by
Reaumur, but with only partial success, and within
these few years an establishment to a considerable
extent was tried in London. The temperature of

182 THE BANKIVA COCK.

modern Europe is, however, too variable, and the
greatest delicacy in the management of the heat is
necessary.

Among the birds belonging to this group not so
generally known, and remarkable for the beauty of
their plumage, we may first mention

C. AI.I.l'S (K NKTS.

188

THE BRONZED COCK.

Callus aneus— CUVIER.
PLATE IX.

Coq bronzd ; Gallus sen e us, Temminck, Planches Colorices,
p. 374. Male.

THIS beautiful bird seems first to have been fi-
gured in the Planches Coloriees from a single speci-
men sent from the interior of Sumatra by M. Diard.
It is rather larger than the Bankiva cock. The comb
is very large, and with an unbroken edge. The
cheeks and throat are bare, and from the base of
each lower mandible there is a small thick wattle ;
the whole of these parts are bright red. The fea-
thers of the head, neck, and upper part of the back,
are slightly lengthened, but do not take the usual
long hackle shape, and are of a metallic green, with
brilliant reflections. The plumes are of deep and
rich purple, and are edged with a broad border of
pale lake. The tail is also purple, with bright me-
tallic green reflections. The throat, breast, and the
whole under parts, are of a deep black, shaded with
curple, and in some lights with a greenish tinge.
Our next Plate represents

184

THE FORK-TAILED COCK.

Gattus furcatus — TEMMINCK.
PLATE X.

Coq ayam-alas ; Gallus furcatus, Temminck, Histoire Na-

turelle des Gallinaces, ii. p. 261 — PL Coloriees,pl. 483

Gallus Javonicus, Horsfield.

THIS curious Cock was first described by M. Tem-
minck in 1813. It is nearly two feet in length to
the extremity of the tail. The cheeks are bare, the
head furnished with a simple entire comb, and the
throat with a single large wattle springing from the
centre : they are all bright red. The head, neck,
and upper part of the back, are remarkable, from the
short and rounded form of the feathers : the centre
of these feathers is of a deep metallic blue, which
shades towards the edges to a golden-green, and at
the extremities they are finished with a narrow band
of veiy deep black. The feathers of the lower part
of the back and tail-coverts lengthened as usual,
are of a deep black in the centre, and are bordered
with a narrow stripe of pale yellow : those forming
the wing-coverts are of the same form, but the pale
narrow border is of a rich orange-red : the whole
under parts are deep black. The tail is said to be
carried more in a line with the body than usual, and

0< . ^^^!d*J,\&': 1

UNIVERSITY

THE FORK-TAILED COCK. 185

to have a slightly forked form : the large hanging
feathers are of a rich metallic green, tinged with
steel-blue. The bill, legs, and feet, are yellow.

The hen has a circle round the eyes only, naked
and of a livid tint : the head and back part of the
neck are brown, and above each eye there is a red-
dish streak : the back and wing-coverts are of a dull
green, with golden reflections, each feather having a
greyish-brown margin : the greater coverts and se-
condaries are black, with greenish reflections, waved
transversely with yellowish-brown, and having the
tips entirely of that colour; the tail and wings brown,
the feathers of the former edged with pale reddish,
the whole of the under parts are grey, the tips of the
feathers on the breast tipped with a deeper tint ; the
feet and legs are brown.

This bird is said to be very abundant in Java, and
may be often seen during the day upon the edges
of the woods and jungles, but possesses the same
wary disposition of its congeners and the pheasants,
and upon the least alarm runs for cover. Tem-
minck observes that they are not kept in a domestic
state, but that they occasionally breed with the tame
hens — a curious fact, and showing the uncertainty
with which the true origin is clouded. The cry
may be expressed, he says, by the syllables co-crek.

The last that we shall here notice, is still more
remarkable in the form of the neck and back fea-
thers, which are completely separated in their form
and colour from all the others. It is

186

SONNERAT'S WILD COCK.

Gallus Sonneratii. — TEMMINCK.
PLATE XI. MALE — XII. FEMALE.

Coq sauvage, Sonnerafs India, ii. pis. 94. & 95. — Phasianus
Gallus, Lath. Index Ornitholofficus.—*Co<i et Poule Son-
nerat, Temminck, Pigeons et Gattinacees, ii. p. 246.—
Planches Coloriees, pis. 232, 233 — Sonnerafs Wild Cock,
Latham's General History , vol. viii. p. 181.

SONNERAT'S Cock has been dedicated by M.
Temminck to its discoverer. The first notice we
find of it which can be trusted, is in the Voyage to
India by that traveller, under the title of Wild Cock,
and asserting it as the probable stock from which all
our domestic races have arisen. The very great dif-
ference of the structure of the plumage, however,
renders this most improbable ; and none of the do-
mesticated races in India bear the least resemblance
to it. It is a native of the continent of India, inha-
biting the higher wooded districts, particularly In-
dostan, where, among English sportsmen, it receives
the name of Jungle Fowl ; and specimens of it, next
to the Bankiva cock, are much the most frequent in
collections in this country. In size, it is nearly
equal to an ordinary domestic fowl, the proportions

GALLUS SONNERATI

(Sonnc:
"MVtivp r-if Tnrlia

KKMAI.M.
NBltj

SONNERAT'S WILD COCK. 187

rather more slender and graceful : the comb is
and with an unequal margin ; and double wattles
hang from the base of the under mandibles. But
the most singular part in the plumage is in the form
of the shaft in all the long hackled feathers : those of
the neck, wing and tail coverts have a dark greyish
ground, but the shafts are of a bright golden orange,
and in the centre and at the tip dilate into a flat horny
plate, similar to what is seen in the wings and tail of
the Bohemian Wax- wing. They will, however, be bet-
ter understood by the accompanying representations

of their form. Their appearance is both singular and
beautiful. The centre of the back, the throat, breast,
belly, and thighs, are of a deep and rich grey, ha-
ving the shafts and edges of a paler tint. The tail
is of a rich and deep green : the feathers which im-
mediately succeed the long hackles of a rich purple,
edged with a pale yellow, and those immediately
succeeding of a golden-green, edged with grey, the

188 SONNERAT'S WILD COCK.

whole with very brilliant metallic reflections. The
bill, legs, and feet, are yellow.

The hen is about a third less than the cock, with-
out comb or wattles. The plumage has no trace of
the horny structure adorning the other sex. The up-
per parts of it are of a uniform brown : the feathers on
the neck edged with a dark margin, upon the back
and wing-coverts with a pale streak along the shaft,
and on the wings, tail coverts and tail, waved and
mottled with darker markings. The throat and fore
part of the neck is white, and on the rest of the
lower parts each feather is of a greyish-white, edged
with dark brown ; towards the vent the brown pre-
dominates. The legs and feet are bluish-grey.

Dr Latham observes that this species is by far the
boldest and strongest in proportion to its size, and
in Indostan is anxiously sought after by the cock-
fighters, seldom failing to secure the victory over
the larger game cocks.

We shall now proceed to the Pheasants, forming
the

GENUS PHASIANUS, Auctorum.

THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

Phasianus torquatus. — TEMMINCK.
PLATE XIII.

Faisan a collier ; Phasianus torquatus, Temminck, Pigeons
et Gallinacees, ii. p. 327.

WITH this bird we enter the genus Phasianus,
as it is now restricted by modern ornithologists.
Formerly the birds which we have just left were in-
cluded in it, and another group which we shall reach
after having described a few of the more interesting
and typical forms of that now before us.

The Pheasants may generally be characterized by
having the bill rather strong, the upper mandible
convex, and naked at the base : the nostrils are la-
teral, and covered with a cartilaginous scale. The
head is clothed with feathers, but the region of
the eyes, for a considerable space, is covered with a
naked verrucose skin, generally of a bright vermi-
lion. The wings are short, but firm and compact.
The tail is remarkably long, generally wedge-shaped.
The feet have the anterior toes united by a mem-

190 RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

brane to the first joint. The hind toe is articulated
upon the tarsus, which, in the males, is furnished
with a strong conical sharp spur. The plumage of
the male is generally of the most brilliant tints. In
their habits, the Pheasants exhibit all the characters
of the rasorial birds : they live on fruits and roots,
and the larger seeds, are remarkably active upon the
ground ; and though their short and concave wings
prevent them from taking a long and sustained flight,
their power is sufficient to cany them away from
ordinary dangers ; while in the form of the tail and
rump feathers, or upper tail-coverts, we find the same
fulness which we have seen to be so extraordinarily
developed in the peacock, turkey, and cocks.

For our first illustration, and as typical of this
group, we have selected the Common Pheasant, fa-
miliar to every one, and universally admired, for
the richness and beauty of his plumage- It is now
generally admitted that the Pheasant was originally
introduced into Europe from the banks of the Pha-
sis *, a river in Chalchis in Asia Minor. The Greeks,
in the ascent of the stream, were attracted by their
beauty ; and the bird being so easily domesticated,
a valuable addition to the luxury of themselves and
the Romans was soon secured, and rapidly extended
itself over the southern countries of Europe. They
appeared at the expensive and superabundant repasts
of the ancients, and for a time bore the palm for no-

* Now the Rioni.

RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 191

velty ; and Heliogobalus in his ostentation is said to
have fed the lions of his menagerie with them. The
Pheasant may be said to have been originally re-
stricted to the Asiatic continent, extending over the
greater part of it, and reaching to China and the
confines of Tartary. Now, however, it is much
more extended, and its facility of domestication, and
hardy constitution, suit it for almost every country.
It is even abundant in Siberia, where the inhabitants
adorn their caps with its plume ; and one of the
Governors of St Helena succeeded in almost natu-
ralizing it to the more barren soil of that island.
In the greater part of Europe it is completely na-
turalized ; and we have heard of its introduction to
North America, where it will certainly thrive. We
are not aware of any similar attempt having been
made in either Africa or New Holland. In the
latter we should have little doubt of its success; but
the climate of Africa we should consi'der as one of
the most unpropitious for its establishment. We
are in greater uncertainty of the time of its intro-
duction into Great Britain than of its original dis-
covery. They are mentioned in Echard's History
of England as worth only 4d. in 1299. Two hun-
dred made part of the great feast of Archbishop
Neville, about the middle of 1 400 ; and in the re-
gulations of the fifth Earl of Northumberland, begun
in 1512, we find their value increased to 16^d. each.
Upon the Scottish border and high Cheviot rang^e

192 RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

they must have been early abundant ; for in the old
ballad of the Field of Otterbourne, we have

The roo full rekeles there sche mines,
To make the game and glee ;
The Fawkon and the Fesaunt both,
Among the haltes on hee.

The markings and varying and splendid hues of
the plumage of the male Pheasant are so well known
and have been so often celebrated, that any detailed
description will be unnecessary. Pope's poetical de-
scription is extensively known : that of another, per-
haps less frequently quoted, will give some idea of
his splendid appearance :

Splendid his form, his eyes of flaming gold
Two fiery rings of living scarlet hold;
His arching neck a varying beauty shows,
Now rich with azure, now with emerald glows ;
His swelling breast with glossy purple shines,
Chestnut his back, and waved with ebon lines,
To his broad wings gay hues their radiance lend,
His mail-clad legs two knightly spurs defend.

In this country we have, however, Pheasants which
exhibit a marked difference in the want or presence
of the pure and conspicuous white ring which en-
circles the neck. These, by sportsmen, and many
ornithologists, have been considered as varieties on-
ly ; while Temminck, who compared native spe-
cimens of each, thinks them completely distinct.
Out of India they breed freely together, and it is im-

RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 193

possible to decide the question from any series which
could be procured from the preserves of this coun-
try ; and we possess Indian specimens of the ringed
bird only. We shall therefore mention the reasons
for separating them which the above-mentioned na-
turalist has pointed out, stating, at the same time,
that we consider his opinion to be correct, and that
the differences evidently appear more marked than
in many allied birds which have universally been
acknowledged distinct.

The ringed pheasant chiefly inhabits the forests of
China, where the common species is also abundant,
but in this natural state they never breed together.
The eggs of the ringed bird also differ : they are of
a pale bluish-green, marked with small blotches of
a deeper tint ; while those of the common pheasant
are of an olive white *, and without any spots. The
ringed pheasant in its wild state, is always of a lesser
size, the extreme length never exceeding two feet
five inches, and the tail itself is much shorter in pro-
portion to the body. The head is of a whitish fawn
colour, tinted with bluish-green ; and above each eye
there are two white lines, forming a sort of eyebrow.
The markings on the back are different and smaller,
and the rump feathers shew the same peculiar tint
which the mixture of fawn and greenish-blue ex-
hibits ; and, lastly, the white ring broadest upon the
sides of the neck, is a mark which never can be mis-

* This may be seen in any part where the two breeds ex-
ist together.

N

194 RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

taken. The female also differs in her lesser size, and
comparative length of the tail. The ground colour
of the plumage is brown. There are no dark spots
upon the breast, and the barring of the tail is very
distinctly marked ; but what Temminck has observed
to be the principal distinction in the female, is a little
band of thick and black feathers, which runs a short
way under each eye, and which he thinks is wanting
in the other.

The common pheasant does not much differ in its
markings from those of the mixed breed we are ac-
customed to see, except in the entire want of the
ring, and the peculiar tint upon the head and rump,
but it is longer by five or six inches than the other,
extending to three feet.

Of the habits of these birds in a natural state, we
know little in reality, but have no reason to doubt
their similarity to those exhibited in our own coun-
try ; and the deep matted jungles of India, particu-
larly where water abounds, must be their favourite
resort. In their naturalized state, woods with a thick
undergrowth of brush, brambles, long grass, &c. and
interspersed with open glades, which some little
stream refreshes, and the sun enlivens, are their de-
light during the day, and whence they run morning
and evening to the open skirts, where some favourite
food abounds. It is in their way to such feeding
ground, that they are so easily secured by unqua-
lified persons, for, never taking flight unless dis-
turbed, they run and thread their way through these

RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 195

tangled brakes, and leave passages which are easily
distinguished by the practised eye of the poacher.

During the winter months the pheasant goes regu-
larly to roost, and the abundance of a preserve may
easily be ascertained about twilight, by the noise
which the males make in flying up to their perch.
During summer, however, and when moulting, they do
not tree, but squat among the long grass and cover, of-
fering themselves in this way an easy prey to another
class of enemies, polecats, foxes, &c. When pheasants
are numerous, Mr Selby observes, " the males are in
general found associated during the winter, and sepa-
rate from the females ; and it is not until the end of
March that they allow the approach of the latter
without exhibiting signs of displeasure, or at least of
indifference. At the above mentioned time, the
male assumes an altered appearance ; the scarlet of
his cheeks, and around his eyes, acquires additional
depth of colour, and he walks with a "more measured
step, with his wings let down, and with his tail car-
ried in a more erect position. Being polygamous,
he now takes possession of a certain beat, from whence
he drives every male intruder, and commences his
crowing, attended with a peculiar clapping of the
wings, which answers as the note of invitation to the
other sex, as well as of defiance to his own."

During summer, the favourite food of the phea-
sants are tender shoots of the potato and other
plants, and insects with their larvse ; as the au-
tumn advances, the ripening grains of all kinds are

196 RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

abundant, and the ample store of wild fruits and ber-
ries which nature has every where provided, render
this their time of feasting. As winter approaches, they
are reduced to less various fare, and resort to the fal-
lows in search of roots, and to the turnip fields; and
Mr Selby has remarked, that the roots of the bul-
bous crowfoot (Ranunculus bulbosus\ and of the
garden tulip, are both much sought after. The lat-
ter they omit no opportunity of obtaining, and which,
by means of the bill and feet, they are almost certain
to reach, however deep it may be buried. In extensive
preserves, during this season, they are always regu-
larly fed, and know the feeding hour and call of the
keeper correctly, and by this means they are pre-
vented from straying. The most successful and fa-
vourite food at these times is peas or grain. In the
south of England, the breeding of pheasants for the
supply of preserves, is carried on to a great extent,
and on this account the bird can almost never be seen
except in an artificial state ; for being turned out of the
nursing-houses early in the season, and fed and nursed
in the covers for the winter's batteau, they are slug-
gish and lazy, quite fearless, and can afford any
thing but sport to one accustomed to follow game
in their wild and natural haunts. The slaughter at
these shooting meetings is sometimes so immense, that
the game can scarcely be made use of, and they were
formerly much more wanton on the Continent than
in England.

In perhaps the largest game establishment of

RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 197

modern days, and conducted in a most magnificent
scale, that of Chantilli, 54,878 head of various
game were killed in one year ; and during a pe-
riod of thirty-two years, 12,304 is the lowest num-
ber that was obtained. In the same course of years
the number of pheasants killed was 86,193, averaging
nearly 2700 yearly. In Germany, there were some
parties scarcely inferior in massacre. A party of ten
in Bohemia are said to have killed in two days, with-
in a limited extent, above 950 pheasants, besides
about 1200 partridges; and in another part of Ger-
many, twelve sportsmen, if such a name is applicable
to them, killed in one day of fourteen hours, 39,000
head of game, of which pheasants bore a proportion.
At the Christmas batteau in England, 800 to 1000
head of game is a frequent daily amount, the greater
share of which are hares and pheasants. From these
some idea may be formed of the extent to which
breeding and turning out is carried.-

The pheasant is subject to considerable variety of
plumage. Like most of the gallinaceous birds, as we
have already mentioned, the female assumes the plum-
age of the male, and those in this state should be kill-
ed or expelled the preserves, as with the livery, they
assume a disposition at war with their own race. They
vary in being mottled with white, or becoming en-
tirely of that colour ; and Temminck is of opinion
that in such cases the change is owing to disease in
some of their functions, and mentions that persons
who have long had the charge of a pheasantry, have

I 98 RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

known the white birds resume all their former brilliancy
of plumage, after continuing for years in the albino
state. There is another very beautiful variety which
of late years has become extremely common in Scot-
land, and has received the appellation of Bohemian
Pheasant. The ground shade of the plumage be-
comes of a rich green cream colour, but the head
retains its glossy tint, and the black tips and mark-
ings on the breast and belly, and back, appear even
more conspicuous than in the ordinary state. This
state may occur from a modification of the same
causes which influence the change in the white va-
rieties.

The pheasant sometimes also crosses with the do-
mestic fowl. Temminck mentions this as requiring
great attention to accomplish ; but where poultry is
kept upon the borders of a wood abounding with phea-
sants, it occasionally happens, and would do so per-
haps more frequently, if favourable opportunities oc-
curred ; a specimen in our own possession, exhibit-
ing all the mixed characters, was procured in a wild
state. M. Temminck also records a solitary instance
of a mule between the female common pheasant and
male golden pheasant, which exhibited a curious
but splendid mixture; all his endeavours, how-
ever, to procure a second specimen were ineffectual.
The common pheasant breeds also freely with the
ringed bird, and the offspring is productive. This has
been considered by many as a proof that these two
birds were identical, but in the whole of this order,

RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 199

and its corresponding one among quadrupeds, this law-
has a much more extended modification, and can
scarcely he taken as a criterion except in very oppo-
site instances.

We shall now examine another very beautiful
pheasant, very much allied in form to that we have
now been describing. It is

200

DIARD'S PHEASANT.

Phaslanus versicolor. — VIEILJLOT.
PLATE XIV. MALE.—XV. FEMALE.

Le Faisan versicolor, Phasianus versicolor, Vieillot, Gal
lerie des Qiseaux, pi. 205. — Temminck, Planches Coloriees.
Male, pi. 486. Female, pi. 493.

THIS beautiful pheasant was first noticed by M.
Diard, who procured a specimen which had been
imported to Batavia, and is first figured and de-
scribed by M. Vieillot in his Gallery, and since by
M. Temminck, who has also added the portrait of the
female, both of which have been used for the accom-
panying illustrations. It is a native of Japan, fre-
quenting the woods, according to Seiboldt, and pos-
sessing the manners and habits of the common bird.

Diard's pheasant is nearly of the size and form of
the common naturalised breed, but the tail is some-
what shorter in proportion. The naked space of
the cheeks is bright scarlet. The head and upper
part of the neck are of a golden green, with violet
reflections ; the throat and fore part of the neck of
a lively blue ; lower part of the neck, breast, and
upper parts of the body, of a deep green, with a

gp* 5 n^ /p i/1

UNIVERSITY

DIARD'S PHEASANT. 201

shining lustre. The feathers of the back and scapu-
lars have small yellowish white bands upon a ground
of rich metallic green, glossed with purple and vio-
let, and surrounded with a border of golden yellow.
The lower part of the back and rump are grey,
clouded with green. The tail coverts blue or green,
according as the light falls upon them. The feathers
of the tail are of a greyish green, the lateral ones
thickly mottled with very small spots ; the four cen-
tre ones crossed with bars, largest and broadest to-
wards the base. The edges of these feathers are
long and disunited, and have on each side one of
a greyish purple, almost like a fringe. The feet and
legs are reddish. The total length of the bird is
about three feet seven or eight inches.

The female, Plate XV., about sixteen or seventeen
inches in length, M. Temminck observes, so closely re-
sembles the common hen pheasant, as scarcely to be
distinguished from her, except by the less size, and the
proportional length of the tail. The upper parts, how-
ever, have generally a greener tint, and are of a metal-
lic lustre, and the lower parts have a much greater
number of black spots and markings. We have given
a representation of the female of this bird, with the
view of exhibiting the differences of sex among the
pheasants ; among all, even the most splendid,
the plumage is of a shade of yellowish brown ; the
feathers, to a certain extent, following the form of
those of the male, and generally barred with black
about the tips.

202

THE BARRED-TAILED PHEASANT.

Phasianus superbus, — LATHAM.
PLATE XVI.

Barred-tailed Pheasant, Latham's General History, vol.
viii. p. 196. — Phasianus superbus, Faisan superbe, Tern-
minck, Pigeons et Gallinaces, ii. 336. — Faisan venere, Pha-
sianus veneratus, Temminck, Planches Colorizes, pi.
485.

FROM Temminck's own shewing, this is the Pha-
sianus superbus of his former work, and of Latham's
General History. Why he changes the name to that
of veneratus, which was engraved on the accompany-
ing plate, before enquiring into the matter, we do
not know ; and seeing no reason for it, we have now
retained the original one, already introduced into
many works of natural history.

Dr Latham's original description of this very
splendid bird, was taken from one of the drawings
of Sir J. Anstruther ; from the writing beneath it in
the Persian language, it was called Doom-durour,
(long-tail), and was found on the snowy mountains of
Surinagur. Temminck's first description, amounted
only to that of two of the tail feathers, but having
since procured two entire specimens, he has been en-

THE BARRED -TAILED PHEASANT. 203

abled to give a figure and more detailed account ;
the former has now served for the accompanying il-
lustration. It appears to be extremely rare in
China, and to be brought from the confines of the em-
pire to Pekin, where it is kept in the menageries of
the most wealthy. Temminck is also of opinion
that their exportation is prohibited under a severe
penalty. The most remarkable feature in this bird
is the extraordinary and disproportional length of
the tail. Temminck gives the length of the longest
feather as above four feet, while Dr Latham remarks,
" Some years since, I had an opportunity of seeing
a bundle of thirty or forty of these tail feathers,
which were brought from China : I found among
them every length from more than seven feet to
eighteen inches." The body of the bird is about
the size of the Silver Pheasant of our Plate XVJII.
A small portion round the eye is bare of feathers, and
is red. The head is covered with a cowl of white,
surrounded by a narrow band of black, broadest to-
wards the ears. Two white collars cover the neck,
and are broadest on the fore part ; the first stretches
from the base of the bill upon the throat, the second
spreads upon the breast. The back of the neck,
back, and rump, are covered with feathers, in the
form of scales, of a rich and brilliant golden-yellow*
and terminated at the extremity by a narrow band
of black ; the plumes of the breast and lower parts
are of a shining white, covered by two irregular
bands of deep black, and tipped with a band of

204 THE BARRED-TAILED PHEASANT.

the same colour; the middle of the belly, breast,
thighs, and under tail-coverts, deep black ; the latter
spotted with golden yellow. The tail is composed
of eighteen feathers, which fold over each other, and
when closed appear very narrow ; at the base they are
about two inches in breadth, of a greyish white,
clouded with a golden red upon the edges, and cross-
ed on each side of the shaft with alternate crescent-
shaped bars, brown at the shaft, and chestnut-co-
loured at the edge. Temminck counted upon the
feathers of his specimen above four feet in length,
forty-seven of these bands. The feet and legs are
greyish brown, and are armed with spurs, like the
greater number of the genus.

205

SCEMMERING'S PHEASANT.

Phasianus Scemmerinffii, — TEMMIXCK.
PLATE XVII.

Faisan Scemmering, Phasianus Soemmeringii, Temminc*',
Planches Coloriees, pis, 487 and 488.

THIS very beautiful species was sent to the Dutch
collections by Dr Seiboldt from Japan, and is dedi-
cated to the venerable Soemmering byM. Temminck,
by whose description and 6gure it is only known.

That naturalist describes it as intermediate in size
between the common and golden pheasants, or about
3 feet 6 inches long. The plumage of the male is
generally of a rich reddish-purple, with a shining or
bronzy lustre, the feathers bordered with a band
of still more brilliant appearance. Upon the under
parts and wings, the colour becomes of a redder
tint, with purple reflections, and mixed with large
black spots. The tail is long and very ample, clouded
with darker shades, and crossed with thirteen large
black bands.

The female is much smaller, being about nineteen
inches long. The tail only about six inches in length,
perfectly wedge-shaped, is of a lively red ; the feathers

206 SCEMMERING'S PHEASANT.

except those in the centre, banded towards the tip
with black ; the tip itself of the whole is white.
The rest of the plumage is varied with black and
reddish-brown ; the markings arranged in bars or
crescents, a good deal similar to that of the common
grey hen.

We have here to notice another very interesting
bird, of which Mr Gould has given a figure in his
Century of Birds from the Himalayan mountains,
under the title of Phasianus Staceii. The head is
adorned with a considerable crest, and, with the neck,
is of a dull tawny yellow, every feather, except on
the cheeks and throat, being barred with black. The
quill feathers are marked with zigzag lines, and are
tipped with black ; the rump is rich red brown, ea ch
feather having two spots of black near the tip; the
tail is pale tawny, barred at regular distances with a
narrow and broad band of deep blackish-brown ; t'ne
under surface is pale tawny, barred on the back ; t^ne
bill and tarsi brown. The total length is about thr ee
feet four inches.

Our next bird differs from the true or typi cal
pheasants, in being also crested, and in having the
tail in a manner folded, bending and very am pie.
By Temminck it is placed first among the pheasai its,
after the Macartney Cock, with which he conclu des
his genus Gallus ; it is

207

THE SILVER PHEASANT.

Phasianus nycthemerus, — LINNAEUS.
PLATE XVIII.

Phasianus nycthemerus, Linnaeus, Latham. — Black and
White Pheasant, Edwards. —Pencilled Pheasant, Lath-
am. — Faisan bicolor, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinaces, ii.
p. 281

THIS is one of the most powerful of the pheasants,
and is a match in battle for a game cock. The
naked space round the eyes is very large, and extends
forward upon the nostrils, rising above each in the
form of a small caruncle, and at the lower part fall-
ing down in a small wattle. This part is of a soft
velvety texture, and of a bright vermilion tint.
The head is adorned with a long and ample crest
of glossy purplish black feathers ; the throat and
whole under parts of the same deep tint ; the
feathers covering those parts are of a lanceolate
form, similar to those upon the same parts of
the next genus we shall describe. The rest of
the plumage may be said to be pure white, but
the webs of each feather, from the upper part of the
back downwards, are diagonally streaked with black,

208 THE SILVER PHEASANT.

producing a beautiful wavy pencilled appearance.
The tail is folded ; the centre feathers without the
black waves and bending ; the others graduating to
the outside, and broadly marked with black; the
legs and feet are purple-lake.

The female is smaller, the crest much less ample,
and the tail more regularly graduated to the end ;
the centre feathers brown, the outer ones obliquely
streaked with black and white ; the upper parts are
of a chaste greyish brown, with minute black irregu-
lar bars. The under parts are white, irregularly
marked with brown, and crossed with black bars.

The Silver Pheasant is a native of the northern
parts of China, where it is frequently kept in a tame
state. It has often been imported alive to this coun-
try, with the next it forms a very beautiful orna-
ment to our aviaries, and, being perfectly hardy, it
is reared with the greatest ease. Some attempts
have been made to turn it out in the preserves, but
generally without much success. They are with
great difficulty raised from the ground, and may fall
a frequent prey to all kinds of carnivorous animals ;
they also drive off the common pheasant, and the sa-
crifice in many instances has been thought too great.
When in confinement they become extremely tame
and familiar.

209

THE GOLDEN PHEASANT.

PKasianus pictus. — LINNAEUS.
PLATE XVIII.

Phasianus pictus, LirmcBus, Latham. — Painted or Gold
Pheasant, Edwards. — Faisan tricolor, Temminjk, Pi-
geons et Gallinucts, ii. p. 341.

IN this bird we see another form among thn true
pheasants. The head is crested, and even more am-
ply than the last ; the tail is bread, folded, and bend-
ing, and the neck is adorned with a ruff of broad
truncated feathers, which fall from the occiput around
like a hood, and can be raised and depressed at the
will of the bird. This form is only exhibited by the
present bird, and another described by Mr Lead-
beater, under the title of Ph. Amherstia.

This pheasant may be said to be the most gaudy
of its race, and for its gay and splendid plumage and
comparative hardiness, is often kept and sought after
for the aviary, and is so generally known, that a de-
tailed description is unnecessary, particularly where
words are so inadequate to convey an idea of the
brightness of the plumage. In addition to the bril-
liant ruff of golden orange and black* differing from
O

THE GOLDEN PHEASANT.

die plumage of the pheasants, we have the feather*
covering the rump, particularly upon the sides, long,
narrow, with loose webs, almost like hackles, but of
a texture quite stiff and almost horny. The female
has the usual unobtrusive brownish plumage, broken
with black crescent-formed bars, and the tail is short
and regularly graduated.

This bird is also a native of China, where it is
called Kinki or Kinkee, Gold Flower-fowl, or
Wroght Fowl. * It is kept in domestication, and
may now be procured in considerable numbers from
many parts in the south of England. Like the Sil-
ver Pheasant, they have also been attempted to be
set at large in the preserves, but generally a'^o with-
out success. For the table they are said to be more
delicate than the common pheasant ; their numbers
are, however, too limited for them to be often seen
in a cooked state. The feathers of the crest and
ruff are held in much request by anglers, and parti-
cularly to assist in dressing the gaudy Irish hooks.

The other beautiful species now alluded to is

LADY AMHERST'S PHEASANT.
Phasianus Amherstia. — LEADBEATER.

First described by Mr Leadbeater of London, in
the Transactions of the Linnean Society, from two

* Latham, General History.

LADY AMHERST'S PHEASANT. 211

male specimens presented by the King of Ava to
Sir J. Campbell, who gave it to Lady Amherst.

" The feathers on the top of the head are green ;
the crest-feathers are crimson, and 2^- inches in
length ; the pendant tippet is of a beautiful white,
each feather tipped with a dark green circular band,
with a straight band of the same colour across each
feather, about three-eighths of an inch above the end ;
the whole depth of this tippet is 5^ inches, the long-
est feathers 4^ inches ; the neck, back, shoulders,
chest, and wing-coverts are of a beautiful metallic
green, each feather ending in a broad zone of velvet
black ; the wing primaries dusky, with lighter colour-
ed shafts, and white outer edges ; the greater wing-
coverts and secondaries bluish-black ; the breast and
belly white ; thighs and under- tail- coverts mottled
dark brown and white ; the legs light blue. The
feathers on the rump are brown at the base, green
in the middle, the remaining most exposed portion
of a bright saffron-yellow ; the tail-coverts are also
brown at the base, the centre portion barred green
and white, ending in scarlet ; these feathers elongated
to the extent of 10 inches, as their plan of insertion
approaches that of the true tail primaries ; the first
tail primary measures only 29 inches, the plume 1^
inch in depth, of a beautiful white ground, with
broad bars of green about three-fourths of an inch
apart, extending in the direction of the web, and
mottled across from bar to bar ; the third and fourth
primaries are the longest, and measure 38 inches

$12

LADY AMHERST S PHEASANT.

each ; the inner web narrow and mottled black and
white ; the outer web If inch wide, with transverse
circular dark green bars about three-fourths of an inch
apart, on a ground the inner portion of which is
greyish-white, the outer part light chestnut- brown.

213

GENUS EUPLOCOMUS,— TEMMINCK.

THIS genus was formed by M. Temminck, for
the reception of a few birds differing in form and
structure from the cocks and pheasants, but still ap-
pearing closely allied to both ; while its alliance to
Lophophorus is also so great, that the founder of that
genus has transferred one described by himself to the
present little group. The form of the tail is one
of the principal distinctions, being often forked, in all
cases very ample ; the feathers broad, and pointed.
The first we shall notice is

214

THE MACARTNEY COCK.

Euplocomus ignitus.
PLATE XIX. MALE. XX. FEMALE.

Fire-backed Pheasant of Java, Macartney, Embassy to
China, pi. xiii. — Phasianus ignitus, Lath. Index Ornitho-
logicus. — Houpifere Macartney. — Gallus Macartney!,
Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinaces, ii. p. 273.

THE first notice of this very beautiful bird is in
the description of the embassy to China, under Lord
Macartney. It was met with by Sir George Staun-
ton in a menagerie at Batavia, and figured in the
large Atlas of Plates accompanying the above men-
tioned work. Temminck subsequently gave a des-
cription of it in his Gallinaceous Birds, made from
many specimens received from Sumatra.

The length of the adult male is about 2 feet. The
skin of the nostrils stretches backwards, and covers
the sides of the head behind the eyes, and is of a
bluish-purple. Upon the centre of the crown there
is an upright crest, composed of feathers with a
naked shaft, and expanding at the tip into a num-
ber of slender barbs, which spread out and form a
broadish crown. The head, neck, breast, belly, and
upper part of the back, are of a very deep black,

r.r I'i.ocoMrs u;.\ rrrs
Native of C ;

1. ri'i.oco.Mi'S IGNITUS.

THE MACARTNEY COCK. 215

with steel-blue reflections. The feathers on the
middle of the back are of a brilliant orange, or what
would be called flame-colour, and in different lights
assume various degrees of intensity of lustre. The
rump and tail-coverts are broad and truncated, and
are of a brilliant bluish-green, with a bar at the tip
of a paler tint, and in those at the sides of the same
colour with the orange of the centre of the back.
The tail is slightly folded, like that of a hen, or,
when seen flat, appears forked. The centre-feathers
are white ; those on the out-side black, with green
reflections. The legs and feet are bright vermilion.

The female, Plate XX., only about 20 inches in
length, has the plumage almost entirely of a rich cinna-
mon-brown. On the upper parts the feathers are
slightly mottled with black. The throat is white ; and
the lower parts, of a paler tint than those above, have
the feathers bordered with nearly pure white. The
head wants the erect crest of the male ; but the fea-
thers on the hind-head are lengthened. The tail ap-
pears slightly forked.

The Macartney Cock inhabits Sumatra ; but no-
thing has yet been learnt regarding its habits.

216

PUCRAS PHEASANT.

Euploconms pucrasia.
PLATE XXI.

Phasianus pucrasia, Pucras Pheasant, GoulcTs Century,
and Gray^s Illustrations of Indian Zoology.

THIS is one of the most beautiful of the Euplo-
comi, but differs slightly from the typical examples
in the form of the tail, which is more pheasant-lik?
""here seems to be considerable variations in the
shades of the plumage of this bird. The most fre-
quent tints are upon the head, throat, and neck, of a
b autiful green, with blue and violet reflections. Up-
on the sides of the neck there is a conspicuous patch
of pure white. The head is crested with long, rather
broad feathers, the first and shortest arising from the
crown, of a reddish-yellow ; the others hanging over
the back of the neck, of the same rich colour with
the head and neck. The upper parts are of a rich
brown ; the feathers of a lanceolate form, and dark
Centres. The under parts are of a rich chestnut,
and bordering this are lanceolate plumes, of a still
gi eater length, nearly white ; the centres dark,
tinged with yellow, and appearing conspicuous when
lying over the darker plumage of the upper parts.

V.V n.O( OMl'S PURCHKASIA

PUCRAS PHEASANT. 217

The tail is ample, and above of a brownish-chest-
nut. The female is very similar to those of Lopho-
phorus and Tragopan, of a dull umber-brown, with
dark waves and crosses. This bird inhabits the al-
pine regions of India, and is yet but imperfectly
known.

To this same genus belong one or two beautiful
birds even still less known than that now represent-
ed. Among them is the Lophophorus Cuvierii of
Temminck. The plumage of this is black, barred
delicately with grey ; the rump with large truncated
feathers, broadly edged with white. Temminck is
of opinion, that his specimen, unique at the time,
was scarcely adult, and that the plumage, with the
exception of the rump, was glossy bluish-black. A
bird which we lately received from India agrees
with this, and is entirely of a rich bluish-black, ex-
cept the rump.

Another beautiful species, inhabiting Alpine India,
has been figured by Mr Gould under the name of
Phasianus albocristatus. In this the crest is com-
posed of long hackly white feathers. The plume*
upon the lower parts are veiy lanceolate in their
form, and are conspicuously seen on the black
shoulders and mantle. The rump-feathers are of
the same broad form, with broad white margins.
The next form we have to notice is

218

GENUS LOPHOPHORUS,— TEMMINCK.

TEMMINCK instituted this genus in the Histoire
Naturelle des Pigeons et Gallinaces, from what yet
remains nearly a solitary species, the Impeyan Phea-
sant of Latham. At the time of its formation, he
placed several other birds with it ; but he is now of
opinion himself, that they will more properly range
with the preceding genus Euplocomus. The only
bird which has any claim to be reserved is what
was described in " Ornithological Illustrations" as
Lophophorus Nigelli ; but being a female, we cannot so
clearly decide. This genus differs from Euplocomus
in the form of the tail, which is flat and rounded ; the
nearest approach to that being in the Ph. erythrop-
thalmus of Raffles, and in the old Loph. Cuvierii of
Temminck. The form of the bill is also much
more hooked or curved downwards, as if intended
to dig or root up bulbous plants, in the same way
with some tribes of the partridges. The head is
also splendidly and peculiarly crested, and the plu-
mage extremely brilliant.

Our next Plates will represent the male and fe-
male of this splendid bird ; and we have to acknow-
ledge our obligation to Mr Gould for permission to

LOl'lIOPHORl'S' IMPKYAXl'S

W-~ot™ •'. x
UNIVERSITY

THE MACARTNEY COCK. 21(J

copy his beautiful Plates in the Century of Hima-
layan Birds, by far the best which have ever ap-
peared of this, and some other members of this
beautiful family.

IMPEYAN LOPHOPHORUS

Lophophorus Impeyanus.
PLATE XXII, MALE XXIII, FEMALE.

Lophore resplendisant, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinacis^
ii. p. 355 — Impeyan Pheasant, Latham's General History,
viii. p. 210 — Phasianus Impeyanua, Index Ornitholofficus,
ii. 632 — Lophophorus Impeyanus, Gould's Century,, Male
and Female.

THE splendour and changeability of the tints
on the male of this bird, it is almost impossible to
describe, either by words or the pencil. The greater
proportion of the plumage is of varying hues of green,
steel blue, violet and golden bronze. The texture
is very dense and metallic looking, the feel soft and
velvety. Upon the head there is a crest of feathers,
composed of a naked shaft, with an oval tip of a si-
milar texture with the rest of the plumage ; this ap-
pears capable of erection at pleasure, but in a state
of rest seems to recline or bend over the hind head.
The centre of the back is pure white, following the
distribution of colour which we have observed in the

220 IMPEYAN LOPHOPHORUS.

Euplocomi ; the tail is plane, rounded, and of a bright
chestnut, clouded transversely, with bars of a duller
tint. The legs are armed with strong spurs.

The female, Plate XXIII., is considerably smaller.
The feathers of the head lengthening behind, the throat
and fore part of the neck pure- white ; the rest of the
plumage is of a pleasing reddish-brown, varied and
mottled by spots and bars. There is no trace what-
ever of the resplendent colours of the male.

These splendid birds inhabit the alpine ranges of
Nepaul and Himalaya, and with numerous others,
almost as beautiful, enliven these stupendous soli-
tudes ; little is known of their habits, and they have
not yet been brought to Britain alive. The first
specimens which were seen, were procured by the
exertions of Lady Impey, and died after having lived
On ship-board more than two months.

Our next illustration represents the

221

GENUS TRAGOPAN,— CUVIER.

THE Horned Pheasant of Edwards and Latham,
for the reception of which the Baron Cuvier esta-
blished his genus Tragopan, long puzzled ornitho-
logists, and we have it accordingly changed from one
place to another, and find it ranking sometimes with
Phasianus, sometimes with Meleagris, and at ano-
ther with Penelope. The form of these birds perhaps
approach as near to the next genus, or the Guinea
hen, as any other. The plumage is very ample ; the
tail comparatively short ; but the most prominent
feature about them is a loose pendent skin which
hangs from the base of the lower mandibles, and can
be inflated at pleasure ; and on the head, behind the
eyes, two lengthened protuberances, which are also
capable of enlargement and erection. The females,
again, are of unobtrusive plumage, and resemble
those of the last genus. This small group has been
now extended to four species. The first we shall
notice i*

fef-J

THE NEPAUL OR HORNED TRAGOPAN.

Tragopan satyrus^ — CUVIER.
PLATE XXIV.

Horned Pheasant, Edwards'" Birds, pi. 116. — Phasianus sa~
t>rus, Temminck, Histoire Naturelle des Pigeons et Galli~
naces, ii. 349 — Horned Pheasant, Latham's General His-
tory^ viii. p. 208 — Tragopan satyrus, Cuvier, Regne Ani-
mal, i. p. 479 — Gould's Century.

IN looking over the various ornithological works
in our possession for the history of these beautiful
birds, we have been able to find literally nothing ;
their habits are completely unknown, or not touch-
ed upon. They seem confined to the more alpine
regions, reach the limit of snow, and the present
species has been brought from Thibet and Nepaul ;
the next has been received from Himalaya. It
would be of great importance to ornithologists, if
notes were made regarding all the birds composing
this genus, Euplocomus and Lophophorus. Until
we know a little more regarding them, it is impossible
to assign to them with any certainty a place in any
system.

This bird is about the size of a large domestic
fowl. The bare ekin is of a bright bluish-purple.

THE HORNED TRAGOPAN. 223

The feathers on the crown are lengthened, of a dis-
united texture, and are of a purplish-black, becom-
ing deep crimson-red at the occiput. The back of
the neck and bare skin in front are surrounded with
deep black. The upper part of the back, neck, and
all the under parts, are of a deep purplish cinnamon -
red ; the wings and upper parts of an umber brown,
and the tip of each feather has an ocellated spot of
white ; these are largest and most conspicuous upon
the flanks. The tail is rounded, but almost con-
cealed by the tail-coverts, which are very ample, and
spread over it in two ranges, each with a very con-
spicuous and white spot. The tarsi are spurred.

We have not seen the female of this species, bnt
Dr Latham describes it as nearly similar to the male,
but having the colours less bright. If this is correct,
there must be a considerable difference from this and
the female of the next species, figured by Mr Gould,
which almost resembles that of Lophophorus.

224

THE GOLDEN-BREASTED TRAGOPAN.

Tragopan Hastingii — GOULD.

PLATE XXV. MALE— PLATE XXVI. FEMALE.

Tragopan Hastingii, Gould's Century.

THIS is another very beautiful species, about the
same size with the last, and figured and described
by Mr Gould in his Himalayan Century. The horns
and wattles are of the same bluish-purple. The
crown is furnished with a lengthened crest of the
same kind of disunited or hairy-looking feathers,
pure black : the back of the neck, upper part of the
back and shoulders, are of a deep uniform purplish-
red : the wings, and whole of the upper parts, ex-
cept the tail-coverts, are of a deep wood-brown,
each feather having an ocellated spot of white, sur-
rounded with black, most prominently conspicuous
on the lower part of the back arid tips of the se-
condaries. Immediately below the naked wattles
there is a patch of brilliant golden -orange ; the
f ,athers composing it narrow and lengthened, and
>f a hard horny consistence, their points disumti
stretching over, and very conspicuous upon the de
black which covers the rest of the under par

TR \<;<) PAN \ i. VST i M; 1 1

GOLDEN-BREASTED TRAGOPAN. 225

The tips of each feather covering the breast and
belly are marked with a large white spot, with the
dark shaft running through. The tail is black,
clouded with brown ; the coverts do not extend
so far over it as in the last, and are of a yellowish-
white, with a narrow bar of black at the tip of each.

The female given by Mr Gould, and represented
on our Plate XXVI. is entirely of a dull umber-
brown, marked with a variety of dark bars and waves.
The feathers of the hind head are of the usual tex-
ture, and are slightly lengthened behind. Neither
wattles nor horns are apparent.

Our next Plate represents a modification of this
form in

226

BLACK-HEADED TRAGOPAN.
Tragopan melanocephalus. — GRAF.

PLATE XXVII.
Satyra melanocephalus, Gray's Illustrations of Zoology.

MR GRAY has given a representation of this bird
in his Illustrations, from one of General Hardwick's
drawings. It differs from the others in the want of
any naked appendages to the head or throat, and in
the head having a large crest, which is represented
rising from the crown in erect feathers, with dis-
united wehs, from the nostrils to the hind head : it
is of a deep black, inclining to purple at the tip,
and the whole of the head, cheeks, and throat are of
the same colour, whence Mr Gray has taken his spe-
cific name. The plumage bears a strong resemblance
to the others, but we can give no detailed descrip-
tion of it, or any information regarding its habits.
A fourth species is also figured by Mr Gray, under
the name of Satyra Pennantii, which is the last of
the known species belonging to this division.

1M.ATK 11.

TltA(;or A.V ,\I]',I, AXOCE I'll AMIS.

227

GENUS NUMIDA, Linnaus.

THE last form which we have to describe in this
Family is the Guinea Fowl, as they are generally
termed, constituting the genus Numida of Lin-
naeus. It contains only three or four species, all na-
tives of Africa, and some of them were known to the
ancients. During the zenith of the Roman Empire
they bore a high value at the public feasts, and with
its decline were for a time Jost to Europe, to which
they were again most probably introduced by the early
Spanish navigators. Their plumage is very ample,
their form compact and huddled together, and more
formed for abode on the ground than for flight.
The bill is curved and strong. They are gregarious*
and roost on trees. We have figured as examples

THE COMMON GUINEA FOWL.

Numida muleagris — LINNAEUS.
PLATE XXIX.

Numida meleagris, Linnaeus, Latham. — Peintade, Buffon.
— Peintade Mdldagride, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinaoit9
ii. p. 431 — Guinea Pintado, Latham, General History.
riii. p. 144.

THIS beautiful but rathef clumsily formed bird is
very generally known. As its name proclaims, it is
a native principally of the Guinea coast, although it
is also found in various other parts of Africa, and is
mentioned by both Sparman and Le Vaillant as oc-
curring near the Cape of Good Hope. They are
difficult to raise from the ground, but, when pressed,
fly with a powerful flight, and for a considerable
distance. They live in flocks, the amount of their
broods, but at some seasons assemble in hundreds,
when their noise in going to roost upon the tree*
is grating, and almost stunning. In this country
they are kept in the poultry-yard, both for the
sake of their young and eggs ; but being very
quarrelsome to other poultry, and possessing great
strength, they have often to be sacrificed to the pre-
servation of the rest, or to be separately confined,

230 COMMON GUINEA FOWL.

Several attempts have been made to turn them out
in preserves, but this has never been persevered in,
from their driving away and persecuting every other
game. The plumage sometimes varies in being pure
white.

Another species is described under the name of
the Mitred Guineafowl, N. mitrata* It is said to
be found in Madagascar, and is very closely allied
to the common bird, differing chiefly in the ground
colour of the plumage being darker, and in the spots
being larger. The cry and habits are nearly similar.

REMARKS ON THE ARRANGEMENT. 231

WE have now seen most of the members of this useful
family; but, as we mentioned at the commencement,
they are ndt arranged in the order they should properly
stand. This, even now, we may be unable to do as we
should finally desire, having not had an opportunity of
examining minutely all the forms, or of arranging the
other families which compose this order ; but the fol-
lowing short table will serve as some guide how they
should be placed.

The Rasores, or third order of birds, contains the
families Pavonidce, Tetraonidce, Cracidce, Struthioni-
dce, Columbidce.

The family Pavonidce contains the genera and sub-
genera.

PAVO.

Meleagris.
Polyplectron.
Argus.
PHASIANUS.
Callus.

EUPLOCOMUS?
LOPHOPHORUS.

Tragopan.

NUMIDA.

These are the genera at present established; it is,
however, probable, that one or two sub-genera will still
be found necessary, particularly in Phasianus.

The opinions regarding whether Pavo or Phasianus

232 REMARKS ON THE ARRANGEMENT.

should stand as the typical form, are at variance among
our ornithologists. Mr. Vigors, in his arrangement,
proposes the latter, Mr. Swanson Pavo, which for the
present we have adopted. Looking at the forms of
both, we find the tarsus and foot of nearly equal pro-
portional strength, the hallux articulated above the
plane of the foot, but in Pavo proportionably shorter,
and the nail short. In this form, also, flight, from the
unwieldiness of the plumage, is seldom resorted to,
except in extremities ; and the tail cannot be used in
directing it. In Phasianus flight is often resorted to,
and is powerful, though not capable of being long sus-
tained, and the tail is used in directing it : it therefore
deviates more from the peculiarities of the order. The
other forms are more difficult to fix. We are uncer-
tain, whether Euplocomus should not only form a
sub -genus of Lophophorus, and of the situation of
Tragopan. In both, the attributes of flight and perching
are more extensively used. Numida, again, seems to
connect the next family, by its alliance to the partridges,
in the form of the tail and feet, harsh cry, and general
habits.

The more extensive examination of the whole order,
will, we trust, enable us, ere long, to solve all these
difficulties ; and we now prefer mentioning them as
they have occurred, to leaving them altogether un-
noticed.

At the conclusion of this volume, it has occurred to
us, that a few observations on the more Common
and Useful Varieties of POULTRY, and the POULTRY
YARD, might not be unacceptable.

THE name Poultry is derived from the French word
Poulet, and comprehends all the domestic varieties
which we are in the habit of rearing for the table,
whether they be Land or Water Birds.

COMMON OR BARN-DOOR FOWL,
AND TURKEY.

THE most approved breed of the Common Fowl, is
procured from the Dorking Cock, crossed with any
Domestic Hen. The Dorking is very frequently dis-
tinguished by the peculiarity of possessing five toes on
each foot, by their pure white colour, and their supe-
rior plumpness, with delicacy of flavour and whiteness
in the flesh. Black or Speckled Hens are, however,
esteemed better layers, and, in our experience, are less
inclined to sit than most other varieties ; which is par-
ticularly the case with the black breed of Poland.

234

When the rearing of Poultry is entered upon, on a
moderate scale, care should be taken to select a warm
well sheltered apartment, for their lodging in during
the night, and for placing the nests for laying their
eggs in.

The nests, for the purpose of laying in, may be
arranged in tiers, one above another, in chequers, and
may be constructed of wood, filled with straw or hay,
once a-week — cleanliness in this and every particular
being very essential. They should have a foot-board
in front, for the purpose of the birds perching easily
into them, and a fillet in front, to hold in the straw ;
and the situation in the apartment ought to be darkish
rather than light, on account that Hens do not like to
be disturbed in this operation. They should also be
supplied with a ladder or stick, to assist them in perch-
ing up, as care should be taken not to injure the bird
in its passage to the nest, when about to deposit her

egg-
Nests prepared for the business of incubation, should
have moveable gratings to place before them, to pre-
vent the intrusion of other Hens while the mother
is sitting. This grating must be taken off in the
morning, when the other Fowls in the yard are being
fed, the noise of which operation will, in general, excite
the mother to rise and feed also ; but should she delay
to get off her eggs, she may be removed carefully, and
placed near to the feeding board, when, after having

AND TURKEY. 235

satisfied herself, she will return to the nest, and the
grating is to be replaced. She will not require food
again till next morning at the same time. In this
manner we have attended to half a dozen Hens and
a couple of Turkeys, engaged in the process of incuba-
tion at the same time ; the operation of removing and
replacing the whole, not occupying more than half an
hour each morning, and the birds, without the least
confusion, all again set upon their respective nests.
The attention incident upon these creatures at this time
is very interesting; in a day or two, they become so
familiar, as to permit themselves to be handled with-
out fear, apparently conscious that no harm is meant ;
and as the period when the ehick is destined to emerge
from the shell approaches, they become more cautious
and solicitous, that no injury shall befal the tender
cases which envelope their future hopes.

The time which a Common Hen sits is twenty-one
days, that of a Turkey and Duck about twenty-nine or
thirty days.

On the day previous to being hatched, the chirp of
the bird in the shell proclaims, both to the attendant
and parent, that the young are about to make ap-
pearance ; and, on the day following, if all goes well,
the whole brood will be found rolling amongst broken
fragments of their late frail tenements. The mother is,
at this juncture, to be handled with very great care and
tenderness ; she is to be removed to the feeding board,

236 COMMON OR BARN-DOOR FOWL,

where her anxiety will only permit of a very momen-
tary absence, during which the shells are to be removed,
and a small quantity of fine meadow hay inserted into
the bottom of the nest, the chicks being previously held
in a small basket till the return of the parent, who in-
stinctively makes for and occupies her former abode,
no doubt sufficiently alarmed at the apparent absence
of her young, but which fear is soon removed, by their
being placed one by one under her. We have re-
peatedly experienced the value of this precaution, in
saving the chicks from being overlaid, through the rest-
less anxiety of the mother, to secure the brood under
her fostering wings, after feeding herself.

It is of great consequence to have a proper quantity
of dry sand or ashes near the feeding-board, in which
the sitters may rub themselves, in order to disengage
any vermin adhering to their bodies, causing such rest-
lessness, as in some cases to induce them to desert their
charge ; and along with this requisite, water in abun-
dance must be provided.

We quote, from the interesting work of M. Bucknell,
Esq., the following account of the progressive stages of
life, as developed in the egg of a Common Hen : — -

On the third day the embryo organization of the
skull, brain, heart, and blood, is perceptible by the aid
of a magnifying glass.

AND TURKEY. 237

Fourth day — The pulsation of the heart is distin-
guishable by the naked eye.

Sixth day — The chief vessels and organs rudimen-
tally formed; the pulsation and circulation of blood
apparent.

Ninth day — Intestines and veins formed, and the
deposition of flesh and bony substance commenced; the
beak for the first time opens.

Twelfth day — The feathers have protruded; the
skull has become cartilaginous ; and the first voluntary
movement of the chick is made.

Fifteenth day — Organs, vessels, bones, feathers,
closely approaching in appearance to the natural state.

Eighteenth day — Vital mechanism nearly developed,
and the first sign of life heard from the piping chick.

Twenty-first day — The chicks break the shell, and
in two or three hours are quite active and lively.

We have perused various modes of tending and
feeding the young brood, upon its first appearance, but
have found none more successful than the following : —

The parent is to be removed, along with the young,
to a box or other receptacle, under cover, about four or
five feet square, and eighteen inches deep. She, with
the brood, are to be placed in a small coop, inside the
box, so that she may be secured from treading upon
them. A little soft hay should be put into the coop,
and some dry sand or earth in a corner of the box, and
the food placed within reach of both.

238

The coop may be constructed in the following man-
ner : — A wooden frame, of eighteen inches square, with
one door in front, in two halves, in the form of a grat-
ing, to permit of the chicks getting easily out and in
for their food, &c., and another door, outside of that,
for shutting all in at night. Our own wooden frames
are covered with coarse canvass, which is both lighter
and cooler, than if constructed altogether of boards.
For Turkeys the dimensions must be proportionally
larger — about two feet square — formed in the same
way. To prevent the other Poultry having access to
the young brood, there should be a grating in front
of the coop, in which the food and water is to be
placed, and, in the course of the first or second day,
the chicks will find their way to both. The vessel
containing the water should, of course, be very shallow,
with a few pebbles placed in it to prevent the birds
getting wet — precautions which, although obvious, are
sometimes not thought upon. Being economists in our
way, we have constructed very suitable coops out of old
tea-chests.

At this stage of life many are the odd condiments
recommended ; but the food should consist of coarse oat
meal, or bruised grits, for the chicks, with oats for the
mother. In a few days, a little soft boiled rice may be
mixed with the meal, and they will have no objection
to a few small worms, and a little chick-weed occa-
sionally. We kave fed our Turkeys most successfully

AND TURKEY. 239

in the same way, with only substituting bread and
milk, instead of worms ; and chopped cresses or turnip
shaws, in place of the chick-weed. Both will be the
better of a little fine gravel and some particles of lime
thrown in their way.

Generally speaking, the chicks should only get into
their power such a supply of food at a time as they can
nearly consume at once ; for if more is placed before
them, it is trodden down and wasted ; but care should
be taken that they receive that little very often — at
least five or six times a-day. The chicks of Common
Fowls should not get out of the box for at least a fort-
night, and Turkeys fully three weeks, during which
time the parents are mostly to be confined to the coop,
unless the weather be very fine, in which case both

may be permitted a little liberty.

•

The Turkey is generally thought to be a tender bird
when young, and difficult to be reared, although in our
experience this is not the case. Our breed is the pure
white variety; and, the first season, the hen hatcheo
and brought to full maturity fifteen birds. In her
second year, she and one of her daughters reared about
thirty, which were fed up to full size. The old lady
deserted during the existence of the charge, and com-
menced laying eggs, which were consumed in the
family. This is the third season, and the mother and
daughter, at its commencement, very early in spring,

240 COMMON OR BARN-DOOR FOWIt

hatched only nineteen between them. The old bird
again deserted her young, having handed over her
charge to the junior parent, after which she laid and
hatched twelve eggs, nine of which are all, at present,
strong healthy birds, with every promise of being
brought to full maturity of size.

In the successful management of this bird, much de-
pends upon continued care in keeping them perfectly
dry and warm, particularly during wet, moist, or hazy
weather, with very frequent small supplies of the food
already recommended. When they come to be about
full size, they will be found to be even more hardy, and
stronger than other common poultry, frequently roost-
ing upon trees, in the open air, during the night, and
braving the roughest and most inclement weather with
impunity.

It is 'singular, and very interesting, to contemplate
the quick-sightedness of the chick, about two or three
weeks old, in capturing flies, and all sorts of small
insects, as articles of food, while they are needling
their tiny bodies through the grass, or brushwood of
any kind. We were this season much amused, while
watching our beautiful little brood stripping off the
small green insects which were infesting our rose
bushes.

We have already said, that we have found simple
food most advisable for these birds when young, and
we cannot refrain from deprecating the use of all

AND TURKEY. 241

pungent articles, such as pepper, of all sorts. Chopped
nettles are also recommended, but will be found a most
annoying food. We, on one occasion, ventured upon a
trial of them ; but we shall never forget the pain which
was produced in the mouths of these tender little crea-
tures, from the sting of this noxious weed.

Some sort of net or grating should cover in the box,
to prevent the Hen, when out of the coop, from leaping
or flying over, in her restless anxiety, which increases
daily, until set at large with her little brood. The
box may either be placed in the open air or in the
house, according to the state of the weather and season
of the year.

We have said, that a board should be used for
placing the- food upon, whatever it may consist of,
being preferable, in our opinion, to a trough, in which
the food is apt to get sour, while the board does not
labour under that objection, and can be readily cleaned.

All descriptions of Poultry are the better of being
fed up generously from the very shell, and we prefer
the flesh of those brought up at large, to those which
are artificially fed, or crammed, as the phrase is. We
have found a mixture, neither too moist nor too dry, of
boiled potatoes and barley, or pease meal, equal parts,
excellent feeding, either for producing eggs, or good
sound flesh for the table; and this mixture seems to
suit all varieties, whether Land or Water Poultry : it

242 COMMON OR BARN-DOOR FOWL,

has the recommendation of being easily and universally
procurable, and not over expensive; and, with this,
one feed of good corn, in the middle of the day, will
be advisable and sufficient. In the absence of potatoes,
the two sorts of meal just mentioned, with a third part
of sharps or fine bran, will make a suitable mess.

The Poultry Yard should be enclosed in such a man-
ner, as to render it convenient for confining the birds
when required ; but the more they are at liberty be-
yond its narrow range, the better for their health at
all times, on account of the quantity of green food and
insects, requisite to make up their proper nourishment.

Before dismissing this portion of our subject, and
commencing with a short account of the Domestic Water
Fowls, we quote the following from the work of the
celebrated White of Selborne : —

" In so extensive a subject, sketches and outlines are
as much as can be expected ; for it would be endless to
instance, in all the infinite variety of the feathered na-
tion. We shall, therefore, confine the remainder of this
letter to the few Domestic Fowls of our yards, which are
most known, and therefore best understood. And first,
the Peacock, with his gorgeous train, demands our atten-
tion ; but, like most of the gaudy birds, his notes are
grating and shocking to the ear : the yelling of cats,
and the braying of an ass, are not more disgustful. The
voice of the Goose is trumpet-like and clanking ; and

AND TURKEY. 243

one saved the Capitol of Rome, as grave historians as-
sert : the hiss also of the Gander is formidable and full
of menace, and * protective of his young.' Among Ducks
the sexual distinction of voice is remarkable; for, while
the quack of the female is loud and sonorous, the voice
of the Drake is inward and harsh, and feeble, and scarce
discernible. The Cock Turkey struts and gobbles to his
mistress in a most uncouth manner; he hath also a pert
and petulant note when he attacks his adversary. When
a Hen Turkey leads forth her young brood, she keeps a
watchful eye; and if a bird of prey appear, though ever
so high in the air, the careful mother announces the
enemy with a little inward moan, and watches him with
a steady and attentive look ; but, if he approach, her
note becomes earnest and alarming, and her outcries
are redoubled.

" No inhabitants of a yard seem possessed of such a
variety of expression, and so copious a language, as
Common Poultry. Take a chicken, of four or five days
old, and hold it up to a window where there are flies, and
it will immediately seize its prey, with little twitterings
of complacency; but if you tender it a wasp or a bee,
at once its note becomes harsh, and expressive of dis-
approbation and a sense of danger. When a Pullet is
ready to lay, she intimates the event by a joyous and
easy soft note. Of all the occurrences of their life,
that of laying seems to be the most important ; for no
sooner has a Hen disburdened herself, than she rushes

244 COMMON OR BARN-DOOR FOWL,

forth with a clamorous kind of joy, which the Cock
and the rest of his mistresses immediately adopt. The
tumult is not confined to the family concerned, but
catches from yard to yard, and spreads to every home-
stead within hearing, till at last the whole village is in
an uproar. As soon as a Hen becomes a mother, her
new relation demands a new language ; she then runs
clocking and screaming about, and seems agitated as if
possessed. The father of the flock has also a conside-
rable vocabulary; if he finds food, he calls a favourite
concubine to partake ; and if a bird of prey passes
over, with a warning voice he bids his family beware.
The gallant chanticleer has, at command, his amorous
phrases and his terms of defiance. But the sound by
which he is best known, is his crowing : by this he has
been distinguished in all ages as the countryman's clock
or larum, as the watchman that proclaims the divi-
sions of the night. Thus the poet elegantly stiles him :

' '• • ' the crested Cock whose clarion sounds
The silent hours.'

" A neighbouring gentleman, one summer, had lost
most of his chickens by a Sparrow-hawk, that came glid-
ing down between a faggot pile and the end of his
house to the place where the coops stood. The owner,
inwardly vexed to see his flock thus diminishing, hung
a setting net adroitly between the pile and the house,
into which the caitif dashed, and was entangled. Re-
sentment suggested the law of retaliation ; he there-

AND TURKEY.

245

fore clipped the Hawk's wings, cut off his talons, and
fixing a cork on his bill, threw him down among the
brood-hens. Imagination cannot paint the scene that
ensued; the expressions that fear, rage, and revenge
inspired, were new, or at least such as had been unno-
ticed before : the exasperated matrons upbraided, they
execrated, they insulted, they triumphed. In a word,
they never desisted from buffetting their adversary till
they had torn him in a hundred pieces."

246

THE PEA FOWL.

WE cannot, in this place, resist the opportunity now
afforded, of noting down some circumstances which fell
under our own observation, regarding the sagacity of
a favourite Pea Hen, generally supposed a very wild
bird : — In her third year, and very early in spring, the
weather being most unsettled and stormy, she com-
menced the process of depositing her eggs, the first of
which she dropped in a situation perfectly open and
unprotected, the consequence of which, as might have
been expected, was its immediate destruction by the
Magpies. Of this blasting of her hopes, however, she
was unconscious ; and she sat perched, during a fearful
night, upon the naked branch of a high tree, watching
over the precious deposit. Next day she soon dis-
covered her loss, and immediately selected a more
secluded spot for her future operations, in the imme-
diate view, and about fifty yards from our dwelling-
house. We used the precaution to cover this second
egg with the dried leaves of the beech tree. The third
day she not only deposited another egg, but added some
more leaves -herself, which we encouraged sparingly,

THE PEA FOWL. 247

lest we should cause her to desert her charge. Six
eggs were in this way deposited and secured, and which,
with the one destroyed at first, made seven, four of
which were hatched. During the long period of hatch-
ing, in the most inclement season, exposed to very
severe weather, we resolved to run the risk of endea-
vouring to protect the devoted bird. The first day we
put up a branch or two over the spot she had chosen ;
then a few more ; and during a pitiless night, a com
plete awning was erected, consisting of a piece of mat-
ting, which screened her from the incessant rain and
wind, like an umbrella. During all these operations
the bird continued to sit upon her nest, apparently
conscious of the care and sympathy exerted in her
behalf. It would thus appear, that with proper pre-
caution, this bird may be managed with nearly as much
freedom as the Common Domestic Fowl, and instead
of being a rara avis in our yards, it might form a
profitable and highly ornamental addition. The flesh
of the young bird for the table is, in our opinion,
exquisite ; much superior to that of the Turkey, resem-
bling more that of the Common Pheasant. Although
this bird be more independent of regular supplies of
food being held up to it than other Domestic Poultry,
yet, when young, the Chicks should be repeatedly
attended to, and the same food which we have recom-
mended before, namely, oat meal, a very little mois-
tened, will be found very suitable for them.

248

GUINEA FOWL.

WE purposely pass over the breeding and rearing
of Guinea Fowl, with only a very few observations,
our' experience being, that it is a bird which retains
too much of its original wild nature to be bred and
kept with advantage. It is easily made to forsake the
nest, which the Hen secretes with great care and
adroitness, generally in the midst of standing corn, so
that, in most cases, it falls a sacrifice to the reaper's
operations, or is destroyed when they are upon the field.
We once reared, at the latter end of the month of
September, a large flock of seventeen, under a Common
Hen, from eggs got in such circumstances, the proper
parent, being scared, having deserted them ; and we
were most successful in bringing the whole brood to
nearly the size of their foster mother, when a dis-
temper, not understood, and which it baffled all our
attempts to arrest, carried them off one by one, till
at length the Hen, tired out, forsook the last three or
four remaining birds, the strongest of the brood ; but,
to our grief and disappointment, even these also became
victims to the same fatal malady. Before the birds
began to droop, they were very strong and promising ;
but the lateness of the season must have been very
trying j;o them, and most probably the cause of the
illness, which proved so destructive.

249

DOMESTIC WATER FOWL.
DUCKS.

GEESE and Ducks are our most common domestic Water
Fowl, and both may be reared with advantage, and, in
our experience, without much trouble. Ducklings may
be brought out either under a natural mother, or
a Common Hen ; and, during the first week or two,
should be managed in a manner similar to that recom-
mended before for Turkeys and Common Fowls.

On the second or third day, they acquire consider-
able strength, and in a couple of weeks, are nearly
independent of all care, running about, in all directions,
after grubs and insects, if within reach. They should
be kept from much exercise in water for fully three
weeks, however, and ought not to be permitted to get
wetted by rain, from which they suffer considerably at
this tender age.

There are various breeds of this most useful Fowl,
amongst which may be mentioned the Aylesborough,
the White or English, and the Dark Brown, approach-
ing to the plumage of the Common Wild Duck.

250 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL — DUCKS.

The presence of a small running stream of water,
or a wholesome pond, is of course indispensable in the
rearing and keeping of these birds to advantage, and
without trouble, for without this they are miserable
dirty looking objects ; while, on the contrary, nothing
can exceed the interest which arises from looking at
their droll evolutions, and beautiful gestures, in their
own natural element.

Ducks are profitable as layers of eggs, of which
they deposit prodigious numbers, commencing early in
spring, and seldom leaving off the operation, daily, till
towards autumn; and although their eggs are not
esteemed so highly as those of the Common Fowl, they
are most useful in many domestic purposes. Their
food may consist of the same materials as that already
mentioned for other Poultry.

Ducks may be housed at night in the same apart-
ment with other Poultry, care being taken to protect
them from the droppings of the birds perched upon
the roosts above them, and a proper comfortable bed of
straw strewed on the ground below, for the Ducks to
rest upon ; the heat arising, and ascending to the other
birds upon the roosts, we believe, benefits both.

251

DOMESTIC WATER FOWL.

GEESE.

As we have no great experience in the rearing of
Geese, we shall quote from a very useful work, in two
volumes, by R. W. DICKSON, M. D., London, 1805 : —

" There are several distinct breeds of Geese kept in
different places ; but the largest and most useful sort,
whether for the purpose of food or feathers, is the com-
mon breed.

" In the choice of store Geese, care should always
be taken to procure them as large in size as possible, and
from places where they have been well kept. Geese,
like most other birds, begin to lay in the spring months ;
and the earlier this happens the better, as the price of
early green Geese is generally high, and in some cases
it may be possible to have a second brood. Both these
purposes may be promoted by letting them be well fed
with oats, grains, or some such kinds of food at the

£52 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL — GEESE.

period. The Goose generally lays from eight to twelve
eggs. It may be known when Geese are about to lay,
from straw being frequently picked up and carried
about by them. The length of time of sitting is about
thirty days. When Geese are inclined to sit, they
generally show it, by remaining on their nest after
laying a considerable time. In this case, a proper quan-
tity of eggs, as from ten to twelve, should be placed,
in the nests, and something put before them, so as to
prevent the Geese from being much seen. They should
also have plenty of food, sand, and water, near them,
in order that they may not have to remain long off the
nests, and in that way let the eggs be too much cooled.
The Ganders should be left with them as guards. When
the weather is warm, they generally hatch rather sooner
than when it is cold. After the Goslings are hatched,
the best method is to let them remain with the Goose,
especially where they are strong, in some warm sunny
place, that is well secured against the entrance of rats,
and all other sorts of vermin, and which is properly
supplied with water ; being well fed with the crumbs
of bread, grits, wheat, and some chopped clivers. They
should remain in this confinement until they are grown
strong, and capable of following the Goose with ease ;
they may then be put into a small field, or paddock,
where the grass is short, till they are fit to be turned
out with the Geese. When they are weakly, it is cus-
tomary to feed them in the house, with bread, soaked in

DOMESTIC WATER FOWL — GEESE. 253

milk, or a little barley-meal, &c. Where this is done,
they should, however, always be put under the Goose
again, immediately after such feeding, and handled as
little as possible, warmth in this stage being the most
essential article in rearing them. They should never
be suffered, while very young, to go into the water, as
the cold soon destroys them.

" The practice in Lincolnshire, where vast numbers
of these birds are annually produced, is for their nests
to be made for them of straw, and confined, so as that
the eggs cannot roll out when the Geese turn them,
which they do every day. When near hatching, the
shell is broken a little against the beak or nib of the
Gosling, to give air, or to enable it to receive strength
to throw off the shell at a proper time.

" The time of plucking them is about the beginning
of April, when the fine feathers of their breasts and
backs should be gently and carefully plucked. Care
must be taken not to pull or interrupt their down or
pen feathers.

" The quills should be pulled five out of a wing.
They will bear pulling in thirteen or fourteen weeks
again, or twice in a year: the feathers three times
a-year, of the old Geese and Ganders, seven weeks from
each pulling. The young Geese may be pulled once at
thirteen or fourteen weeks old, but not quilled, being
hatched in March. But when late in hatching, the
brood Geese should not be plucked so soon as April,

254 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL — GEESE.

but the month after. When well fed with barley and
oats, they thrive and do better, and their feathers grow
faster, and are better in quality than where it is omit-
ted. They must constantly have plenty of grass and
water.

" In many parts of this fenny district, vast advantage
is made by the frequent plucking of the Geese. At
Pinchbeck, it is the practice to pluck them five times
in the year, as at Lady-day, Midsummer, Lammas,
Michaelmas, and Martinmas. The feathers of a dead
Goose are worth 6d., three giving a pound. But pluck-
ing alive does not yield more than 3d. a-head per an-
num. Some wing them only every quarter, taking ten
feathers from each Goose, which sell at 5s. a thousand.
Plucked Geese pay in feathers Is. a head in Wildmore
Fen.

" In the fattening of Green Geese, care should be
taken that a little green food be given, along with the
oats or other grain, that may be employed for the pur-
pose when they are put up, and that they be well
supplied with water and sand* A fortnight or three
weeks is long enough for this purpose, if they be well
and regularly fed ; but, in the fattening of the older
Geese, there will not be any necessity for the green
food. The place in which they are confined, with this
view, should neither be too light, nor too public in its
situation, as they d,o not feed so well, where these
points are not attended to. They should likewise be

DOMESTIC WATER FOWL — GEESE. 255

at a distance, so as to be out of the hearing of the old
or store Geese.

" Besides the benefits that may be derived from Geese
in the feathers and the birds as food, it seems not im-
probable, but that they might be made to produce a con-
siderable advantage in the way of manure, if managed
under a system of constant littering with straw, fern,
or some other substance of the same kind, as from the
great quantity of grass they consume, the discharge in
the night is very considerable."

PRINTED BT W. H. LIZAES, EDINBUBOH.

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